I was always stressed over the appraisal b/c VA will not back a loan for more than what the home is worth.

It forced me to continue working at high stress, high paying jobs to afford it.

In the long run I will need a good property manager because the stress or managing people from a distance will be much less if I am able to manage a property manager.

Quote my post to see what I did - but don't hit the "post reply" button :)

It took nearly 8 weeks of negotiations with the seller; 6 weeks to select the right fire repair contractor; 6 months of vacancy; and countless incredibly stressful situations, but it's over and done with and I feel we have an great asset added to our portfolio.

I cannot stress how important building rapport is.

I'd say don't stress over whether you should be buying one or the other.

Moving forward my goals are to learn as much as I can with that search button, as its already helped tremendously.

The local rep I am working with has 40 years as an underwriter and owned around forty rental properties, so not only am I getting the reduced stress of having help rebuilding credit, I'm also building a relationship with a local mentor in some ways.Real estate is something I've always had an interest in.

ok sorry...i couldnt figure out how to get it to say "orignally posted by" so i just copied your test...but now i see the "quote" button...still learning here...