Is it totally nuts, having to borrow from a credit card in order to "start out?"

If you can make enough then use your total amount as a down payment on an apartment building.

., established a bank account in the business name, ordered some small advertising products, published a website and basically gone from a total newbie to someone who has the ability to hold a conversation on REI and actually sound like I know what I am talking about!

but i see the world in a totally different way.

...Believe in myself enough to do this so I feel like I'm not totally dependent on a business that I don't own...even though I have a great job.

Even if you converted it into two units your rent in total for the area might be $1250 per month.

Do at least 10 total calls on potential dealsa.

Meaning rents can be trashed and still be totally fine to buy simply because you could spend a few grand on cosmetics and have a new suite.

The basic numbers I see are usually:Purchase Price- price you pay for the propertySelling Price - amount you will sell the property for (not necessarily what you will list it for)Holding Costs- monthly payments, insurance, utilities, points paid upfrontRE Agent Commission - agent's commission on the sale of the property (commission on the purchase of the property is considered paid by the seller)Rehab costs - total expenses used in rehabbing the property from lawn, paint, permits, property inspection, contractors, supplies, etc.Profit - the amount you must make to take the dealIf you take the selling price and first subtract the purchase price, then subtract the expenses (holding costs, agent commission, rehab) you should have your Profit amount.

I would want to know what the rent will look like compared with the total debt you'll have on the property.