It requires a whole basket of skills and you have to be good at all of them including knowing your market really well, marketing skills (and significant funds), negotiation skills, understanding investment strategies and what makes an attractive deal, estimating rehab and construction expenses, estimating after repair values accurately and networking - to name a few.

Assuming the rents cover your expenses, in 30 years when you’re in your early 50s and the mortgage is paid off, and you’ve done the smart thing by raising the rents over the years, you will be sitting on a multi-million-dollar asset that cash flows thousands of dollars per month at the cost of a measly $20k or so out-of-pocket when you were 20-something.

A little creative thinking and attractive design goes a long way it seems! 

I think duplexes on streets made up of single family homes are more attractive to renters.

WHY because as hardmoney lenders they have more control over there capital.I have been one over the last 30 years my last shop was 35 million so we were not tiny but we were not SEattle funding either.. more on the line of East side or vestus.Borrowers just don't jump ship for 1% or a little cheaper.. they will stick with who will allow them to scale.so when I want to do a 100% deal for one of my long time borrowers no problem. your not going to be able to compete.. the day of 20% plus rates are gone of course.But the portals all want to make 14 to 18% apr just like the HML companies.Can you take market share no doubt but you will have to build it just like I built my companies excellent customer service and flexibility.. right now the Portals like RS have very stringent underwriting they cannot compete with many of the local guys in this market that have 10 to 30 mil to lend. and there is only so much hard money demand in a given market as we know.Vestus and East side get a lot of their business by providing capital to buy at courthouse steps this is highly complicated and lots of moving parts your portals will no way be able to compete at that level.Were I can see a portal doing well though is with bigger funding deals that the HML won't take on.. like larger credit type lines etc we have had some interest from portals for this.. and its not at all competition with the local guys.

I'd like to invest in an out-of-state property (since the ROI is attractive) but since I'm working in my full time job I don't have time (=rat race) to go down to see the property, so I had a creative idea to hire wegolook.com to complete a property report with photos and then to double check on him I would hire a local licensed property inspector to go look at the property and then compare them to see if the information match.

Over the past two years I have had two different groups of tenants not renew their leases because of him.The duplex is in a good area and attracts B-B+ tenants. 

If the HOA has a million in reserves, you probably don't need to worry much about rates going up or special assessments.

A lot of sellers will say that, but when you hit them with a competitive financed offer (shortened loan/appraisal contingency, high EMD, short due diligence, etc) and pre-approval, they almost always reconsider.Really, the only reason cash offers are more attractive than financed offers is because of the uncertainty pertaining to the borrower as well as the property qualifying and appraising.

Go to an investor club or local meeting, your $25,000 of borrowed money could be worth millions if done right over the next 25 years.