In WA a lease can be invalidated if the prospective tenant has not seen the apartment prior to signing.

I don't think it is wise to look at the 5 year appreciation numbers for SD and compare them with cash flow in the midwest.

As a member of the 6 digit grad school federal student loan club, with loans around or below 6%; I am in more of a hurry to max out my investments prior to loan pay off...

@Mike Loy, As a realtor you qualify for a Solo 401k, which has many advantages over self-directed IRA, here are few:Contribute 10X more than into an IRA (up to $61,000 per year per participant)Access up to $50,000 from your retirement account tax-free and penalties-free at any time prior to retirement via participant loan featureExempt from UDFI tax on leveraged real estateInvest tax-free using Roth 401k sub-accountCheckbook control without use of an LLC Custodian is not required = no custodian, transaction or asset based feesYou can read it in more details here:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/2810/21298-sol...The bottom line is that if you qualify for Solo 401k - it would be way better than an IRA.

Comparable sales in the area can be very misleading unless you know the area. 

Based on my current experience with this compared to #1 and #2.There is an advantage to cutting your teeth on something easier up front...that being said I think you can buy bigger and do a Great Job focusing on inspections to cover your back side, and get best of both worlds.

the market is very strong in Margate but I’m not exact on how it compares if you bought at peak. 

I am a relative newbie as well compared to many on this site, but I would glad to offer you any advice that I can to help you get started. 

I read through your blog post and was confused on one sentence where you comparing the difference in waiting vs delayed finance. where does the amount $5,757 come from in the following sentenced pulled from you blog:"ARV: $85,00075%: $63,750HUD: $58,553.36Difference: $5,196.64.

How do the rental rates compare to the acquisition costs?