And also, if you can go the local route, I have a few neighborhoods I want to invest in, so I walk and drive those neighborhoods regularly and watch for ones with papers stacked up and that look vacant, and I will look up the PIN and tax on them to see if they are late or missed. 

Please keep us posted with regular updates.

She regularly buys properties, fixes them up, and sells them months later for a profit, but never rents these properties.

The way it usually works with a regular rental (Single Family Residence) is you'll input your gross rental income then input your expenses to offset that income.

Usually about 20-25 of us show up/ 1/2 regulars 1/2 new comers. 

There was royalty deal on the courses, so I started getting paid royalties and as the company grew, the royalties went up and up.Eventually I was able to quit my regular job from a combination of the rental income, royalties and business income I was generating.I decided I wanted to have passive income so I wouldn't have to work again, so I started dumping all my cash into paying off my loans on my properties.I eventually paid them all off and that's basically where I am now.So,  I had a combination of income I made from royalties on Pluralsight, the appreciation of the rental properties and business income that brought me to the current point.There's more details, but that's the short short version.

In search of an informed CPA regularly dealing with real estate investors in the Houston area.

I would say it’s definitely more work, but cash flow is easily 15-40% higher than regular rentals here.

Starting with conventional loans: these are the “regular” mortgages that most people aim for.  

He is based out of Atlanta.He is a member of this forum who responds regularly to members with tax questions.Happy New Years and I hope you much success in your real estate investing career!