Well...the Dayton Dragons baseball team has the most consistent sold out games of any sporting team in North America (startling fact), Warped Wing opened a second location, and a half dozen other breweries are now open in the city...Boston Stoker coffee is totally awesome and has several new locations (this is important because it's a key indicator for the successful revitalization of many cities...beer-food-coffee is key)...there is a river front development that is reminiscent of Columbus (which was awarded best on the country), there is big inner-city revitalization...I saw a developer by the name of Simms pre-sell 24 $500k "Brownstone" townhouses in the center of downtown (unheard of in Dayton)...there are 30 renovation projects going on downtown...and they now have a full time staff on the streets to keep the city clean...the population is on the increase for the first time since 1964....I mean this is pretty superficial, but it's every bit as important as economic indicators...there is a lot more to this...There are still "war zones" in abundance in Dayton and it's the Opiate Overdose capital of the USA...but getting better rapidly...just proceed with caution if you elect to invest there...a local subject matter expert is a must!

If you are starting out and have W-2 income likely you would want to keep that for loan qualification but once your portfolio is established you can choose what other, if any, income you want to spend your time developing.

In addition to the potential increase in cashflow by doing a 1031 Exchange, it would give me peace of mind as this property is the only one in my portfolio that is exposed to a high risk of flooding during a natural disaster as it is located in a very low lying area.I am happy to provide additional numbers/details if there is anything I am leaving out.

Should I have multiple speakers, give aways, real estate games, aaaaaaahhhhh!

This stigma is going to be the biggest problem for investing in the next decade as more and more younger folks get into the game, and I truthfully I am all for that because I want them to learn and see that this is not as easy as they see on YouTube.

My husband and I are still on our journey paying off student loan debt, so I figured it would be a few years before we got into the real estate game.

If you want to build a portfolio....consider an FHA Loan FIRST.

What you are overlooking is that you going to need some skin in the game...its usually called MOOLA...

@Logan Fast you can always go to a portfolio lender- just be prepared for higher fees and interest.

That usually gives me enough room to win some, lose some, and still net out around equal.Also, as you get involved in this silly little game you'll start to get a feel for what it costs to do certain tasks and you will naturally be able to get a feel for costs.