On the other hand, buy one newer rental house a year in state-tax-free sun belt states.  

I am newbie so I will stickn with one for now until I get some priorities under my belt.

But then again, I am a small, independent, DIY, self-managing landlord in the Rust Belt in single-family and small multifamily.

@George Blower - I should have clarified.. my company matches 50 cents on the dollar up to my 8% (so they do 4% total). 

they have more than a hundred deals worth tens of billions under their belt.   

Maybe once you get some deals going and a couple years under your belt you will be better able to answer this for yourself. 

Once you have a few deals under your belt this will become much easier.You've come to the right place. 

I have two completed deals under my belt and I ave only been doing it for 8 weeks.So my search for the best house lead me to an immaculate house in East Hampton.

Now that I have two flips and a few properties that have required work under my belt, I've become a lot more comfortable with the rehab prices.What you're trying to do is completely skip the learning stage of this business. 

Currently have experience as a leasing agent and minimal transactions under my belt.