Seemed like a waste having them money sit idle

@Patrick Cianchetta hard to analyze with minimal information.

Or is it just a big waste of time...Appreciate y'all,Chelsey

But I have thrown one in when trying to lease in the winter, for example, to try to minimize vacancy.

You will normally pay a minimal amount like $50 or $100 to process the loan.2) The interest rate is low and you are paying it to your own retirement account.3) It can allow you to get into real estate investment faster4) If you leave your employer or get fired, recent tax law changes have made it so that you have additional time to pay back the retirement fund.Just an FYI - I personally took a 401K loan to get my first investment 4 years ago.I eventually left the employer and decided to take the hit and pay the taxes on the 401k distribution.Best decision of my life.Best of luck!

A good agent, a good home inspector, and your own due diligence should guide you to minimize risk. 

Don't waste a second of your time reviewing applications until you have everything in front of you.

Doing data on all 50 states is a gigantic waste of time in terms of finding your target market, but great for overall country knowledge.

DSCR lenders are busier than they've ever been because the rates and programs still allow for great cash flow, the loans close with minimal effort and there is more uniformity in this sector of the mortgage business.4.

To gain value and minimize my down side, I want to use my investment to purchase a property to leverage the income to reinvest in additional properties.