Don't assume the city won't try to call your bluff and hope you just take their word for it instead of educating yourself. 

I do both sales and property management, so networking with investors who are interested in Raleigh has been a big part of my business.You also can't beat the (FREE) education you will get here!

They are more willing to be flexible and might allow a re-finance now without the "seasoning" period of 1 year.

@Hannah Kingslien the first thing you need to do is educate yourself on the costs.

I've been listening to some podcasts, but what other resources would you recommend to a new agent to get educated on what it takes to be successful in this field?  

CAPEX are amounts that you will be setting aside to cover various items that you expect to replace over time (your expected hold period).

I would like to walk you through my analysis to see if I am doing something wrong with my numbers.Property: Duplex in San Rafael ST, South of Edgecliff Village in Fort WorthAsking Price: $155,000Down Payment (3.5% via FHA): 5,425Loan Amount: 149,575Loan Period: 30 yrInterest Rate: 4.38%Monthly Mortgage Payment (using BP mortgage calculator): 747.24Income:Unit A --> 695Unit B --> 89550% Rule:Cash flow = (Income)*50% - (Monthly Mortgage Payment) Cash flow = (895) *50% - 747.24 = -299.74** This computation was made only leasing unit B and living in unit A (house hack).A few thoughts regarding this analysis:1.The schools surrounding the area are below average schools (according to greatschools.org).2.I am not including the monthly taxes, nor the monthly insurance in my analysis (I have not searched for this information.

I believe the answer lies somewhere in the middle.As investors, we have to be educated, understand contracts, be able to write complete scopes, and most importantly, communicate our intentions clearly.

We would definitely recommend attending the monthly Hobby Millionaires meeting (find on meetup.com) as this has been extremely educational for us.

Hey Columbus Investors,After months of educating ourselves, reading books, listening to podcasts and researching we finally took the plunge into real estate investing!