@Johann Jells it would appear from the opinion that the NJ inspector did not believe they were needed and the court interpreted otherwise, so they will be looking for them going forward.With regard to the appearance- I agree in some cases, personally I paid a pretty penny for mine and I like the look and the added shelf space.

Buy in an area with low crime and historically stable population and job growth 4.

I won't be investing in the riskiest/most supportable asset subclasses such as hotels, and tilt my portfolio the ones that have historically been more stable such as multifamily and single-family housing.

It is a strong rental market due to the military presence, great schools, and stable jobs in the area.

You will likely need to shop the Midwest for $50k SFR - I imagine you are also going to be doing some BRRRR (renovations) to hit those spreads you need.We invest exclusively in Tucson where a SFR is going to run you $100k ballpark in a lower income part of town and might need attention.We live in Scottsdale where cheaper parts of town that aren’t a war zone start around $200k.Arizona (Phoenix) isn’t the deal haven it was in the 80s and 90s, but there is some decent appreciation and nice stable renters here which we love.

Your best bet is to find a credit partner (someone that has stable W2 income + decent credit). 

I am going to be starting my investing journey in 2020 once I finish building my stable foundation and that was my hope; to buy a handful of properties with cash, let them cash flow for a while and then utilize their equity to cash flow a larger property.

@Peter Bankhead while they may not be the cheapest, here are some zip codes which are the more stable of the area.  63139631436311063109To me, these zip codes are the least “block by block” in the city proper.  

Right now I work in engineering, and have a stable high six figure income, and am young so have plenty of time to see capital appreciation.

I'd want to know how stable they are and whether they're Amazon proof.