I have meetings in Cleveland every week on every side of town that cost nothing and we get together and buy, sell , swap and trade deals over coffee! 

Without a full time repair person your PM is constantly calling professional trades in at really high rates that eat up your monthly cash flow.

Better to make them on a small one than to swing for the fences on your first one and find you've actually struck out.Depending on your regular income and your savings on hand, you may not have to go the hard-money route.

Ever trade in a car?

Your job is to find people who want have something that they want to sell or trade with enough room for a profit margin.

I think the trend will swing back from renting and group psychology about "rising real estate values" will kick in just as it did 10-15 years ago.Yes I think we should keep buying to get more pieces on the board (boats in the water to rise), but completely disregard any potential appreciation both in terms of our return calculations and psychologically (in other words, don't get caught up in the coming "real estate boom" psychology and buy marginal properties or cash flow negative properties expecting appreciation).That may mean doing fewer deals but it's a price I'm personally willing to pay.There are also some broader economic issues which could throw in some systemic risk and gum up the works, such as Russia-Ukraine, the Chinese economy, the European economy (and some of its weaker members like Greece), etc.So in my mind I think there are three possible scenarios: 1) 1/3 likely to have steady good growth in RE values (scenario of U.S. economy continuing to do reasonably well but little/tepid real wage growth), 2) 1/3 likely to have another boom (scenario of U.S. economy doing very well and finally having real wage growth for the first time in a long time), and 3) 1/3 likely to have the train get derailed by external factors such as the world economy, some kind of war, etc.In all of those scenarios it seems to me that good, cash flowing properties will be good to have.

Since you are supplying the granite you know they offer free installation and sink when you buy it.If I were you I would hire each trade out separately.  

It went for 3 or 4 years post Katrina.to take the bonus section 179 depreciation one must buy new construction and it must be for your trade or business..

@Zach Adams  If you really have no idea of market cap rates in So Cal, MF in great areas like west side Costa Mesa are down to about 1-3% and rougher areas like Murrieta and Lake Elsinore routinely trade in 5-6% caps.  

The property is  single 4,000 sq ft building trading at over 700 a sq ft!