@Scott BeanCashflow is the king at end of the day but you gotta also keep in mind the entry and exit strategies for these investments.if you can sell the 200K house in Dallas faster and quicker due to the quality then its better deal as the underlying asset is better.With house in IL, they might be cheap but is the extra CF worth the maintenance headaches  and the risks?

It seems good to give folks an incentive to build things faster, but not at the expense of quality.  

It may be slow the first year or two, but having good credit will allow to move much faster and more confidently. 

Cheap tools are generally frustrating not only because they wear out faster, but also because they are not as accurate.  

Mine is a paper weight now.

If you want to move faster, up your piece count, but bear in mind that the number of touches is very important.You are absolutely not failing at direct mail....just a little impatient.  

I have yet to find a course catalog or a syllabus, though......and I'm not sure how much weight "Well, I read on BP that ..." is going to carry in front a of a judge, the building commission, ...

The pros are that you will know a heck of a lot more than an average buyer and be able to size up a deal faster, the con is BIG, you may know  too much and be deemed a "Sophisticated"  investor to the sellers.

And ofcourse advantages to paying them off faster was also that I could get loans from banks easily, since I am a newcomer to this world and really don't have any creative financing skills right now. 

It's around $24 per month but it's worth it's weight.