In CA they require 4 years, they do recognize the education, if you have engineering degree or what not, in that case you still have to get 1 year experience in the trade, maybe not really pounding hammers but at least a supervisory level.

the OP asked how to get the greatest return on his money in 1 year.  

Which quickbooks price level do you use?  

Once you add these guys up, I think you'll be down to a more realistic cash on cash return level.

I have property investments in Indy, among other places, and I can tell you the price point you are looking at of less than $50k with that rent level can have a lot of problems.  

PMI was created so that lenders could offer higher LTVs (which means lower down payments) while still keeping their risk in the deal at tolerable levels. 

Buyers will appreciate it and it adds a level of professionalism to your business.

I haven't done any investing in real estate outside of the purchase of my house, but I feel that Houston area is cheaper than many places on a national level (I think SA probably is more affordable in TX).

This will give you their "why," and allows you to be able to gauge their level of motivation.

Less disposable income means that they cannot afford to pay the level of rent they did in the past.