I've recently been exposed to the fantastic power of having mentors, and this has greatly assisted other parts of my life.

Bottom Line:If you can't put it on MLS you stand a very small chance of selling it FSBOyou need the exposure to thousands of agents who then expose it to all their clients.so instead of you whistling in the wind.. your property once it hits MLS goes to maybe 50k people who are activity looking and working with their realtors.don't fool your self into thinking but your house will sell.It can happen but its a tough one in the retail owner occ space..Multi family or investment properties are very often sold off market.. just depends on what you have.

As others have said in this thread, something totally passive where you are not directly exposed to potential tenant liabilities may be best for you. 

-James Your on the right track, do your research, attend your local REIA's, and try to be exposed to real estate as much as possible.

This is why I don't buy in areas I don't know, I probably wouldn't buy a 15K house with pretty pictures that's 500  miles away, in fact, the cheaper it is the more you should dig understanding why and local knowledge generally exposes the reasons why. :)   

Years ago, I worked at a r/e law firm and was exposed to the difference type of properties and their respective values.  

It is my understanding that Lehman's failure will expose a countless number of these smaller institutions.

Allow 20% vacancy $5,760 equals $23,040 annual income.Income via annual leasing is approximately $1,500/mo tenants pay own electric/propane.

And I am told you need 1 1/2 total inches of underlayment on big joists (not over spanned) spaced closely.On floor above I removed short pieces of hardwood to expose terrible condition  inch bye subfloor,,large holes,large areas of no support. 

The garage has finished ceilings, walls, heat (Propane), and AC.