Has anyone gone down this track, of suffering the first few years, and then gaining a nice return, and how long do you estimate I'd need to eat ramon noodles for?

If past experience on other forums/boards is any indication of future actions, I'm probably going to be lurking, asking a few questions here and there, and generally gaining lots of information about the subject before I put it into action.That said, my biggest "fear" right now is analysis paralysis.

You gain on the sale is the selling price less the basis.

I work on the computers (Mainframe) full-time and I dont want to quit that day-job unless I have enough "Passive Income" flowing in to my account!

I'm not trying to gain her confidence or become her friend, or play any other silly guru games.

I am trying to build contacts in the real estate community on the investor side so that we can all help each other get deals and gain more knowledge.

I feel like if you can buy a house, live in it, fix it and sell it two years later for a tax free gain..that's the place to start.

Yes doing the work yourself is the long way, and holding costs can eat up any savings gained by doing it yourself, let alone you can't market for buyers or new properties if you are rehabbing, but I can understand you want to know the process for future investments.Do keep us informed of your progress!

If you sell it in a few years for $130K, your gain is the net sale less the basis.

I feel like this experience is entirely repeatable and the next time around the gains will be even greater.