I ended up making $2500 in commission on it.If I were not a realtor, I would have simply talked to him and found out what he was willing to pay, then wrote up a wholesale contract, then put the home under contract with HUD, then played the spread.This was my most recent deal, but I have picked up endless buyers for other homes while parked outside of HUD homes.

I really am not desiring to manage my properties myself, it's not in my long term game plan.The town is small and with city codes I don't know that they would accept a box as an address as well, and I tend to try to play by the rules and codes rather than break or bend them, but that is just me. 

Hello everyone,I was wondering what most of you real estate investors would consider the "ideal" number of properties to be able to quit your job and live comfortably without having the NEED to pick up another property.

I heard another investor tell a story on securing a lead and speaking on the phone with a homeowner who was motivated but needed or appeared to need a push aka playing hard to get.

Ideally, I would like to more closely "follow" my local colleagues in the Bay Area.

A seller finance situation with sweat equity would be ideal.

The neighborhood isn't ideal for retail sales and the value wasn't there to repair the SFH.

Anyone out there doing house fix-and-flips and/or buy-and-hold rentals would be ideal for me.

At first glance, hard money would not be MY ideal strategy, as most I deal with are 6-12 months in timeframe.

I play on having a large amount of spare time.If need be I could relatively easily acquire a job paying 50-60k per year @ a 40hr workweek as a staff nurse at a local hospital.I live 55 miles south of knoxville, which is where i would like to buy a home, which essentially, will be my first investment property a year or two down the line.I plan on living in what I buy while i finish up clinicals in knox (would save me driving time)Down to the numbers, there are several homes (just by simply looking at the MLS), that would probably make suitable places to live in and in the future transition into rentals.