I'm curious to hear people's stories of someone who wanted to invest in rental real estate but got in over their heads through taking on too much debt, stumbling during rising interest rates with an adjustable rate mortgage, etc.

If you need it to cash flow then furnished short term rental is your best bet; people pay top dollar (over market) for places that are this nice!

All of this info can be sourced from online platforms and articles, real estate investment meet-ups, and general networking with folks in the industry.Maybe studying all of this is unnecessary, but at the end of the day, the more you can perceive change in the RE space, the better you can adjust your strategy and criteria to profit in the market.

I have a friend who is a Realtor, and I have asked her to run comps for me a couple of times, to see if my rents need adjustment.

For that kind of interior Devore Design will likely be your best bet. 

@Gorden McFarling  Your best bet by FAR is to contact a local Realtor and get it listed on MLS. 

If you want the least amount of work but lowest cash flow (cover 50-80% of your mortgage payment), I recommend finding a house with a basement/mother-in-law apartment, and live upstairs and then rent out the basement to a long-term tenant.Denver metro has experience terrific appreciation like most metro markets, and over the last 40 years, Denver averages 5% appreciation, so Denver is a great bet long-term.   

FHA for house hacking is your best bet.  

Simply writing it down and making adjustments as you progress is all you need to do.For the rest of this post, I will assume that you want to create a reliable income stream to augment what you are currently earning or to replace your current earnings altogether.The ProcessThere are 4 steps, which are illustrated below.

Problem properties will be your best bets.