Outside of REI, I have a career in the IT space, having worked at various large financial firms in the NY/NJ area and now as a Solutions Architect at a small firm in the network appliance space.In the few weeks that I've been reviewing info here on BP, I have been very impressed with the sheer volume of talent and knowledge present in the community; it's truly humbling to see just how much there is to learn.

The part of the equation that we don't have is the terms of the mortgage, if there are not too many years left of them based upon a low interest rate and there is equity in the property then it could be attractive from the scenario you reference of owning the properties with minimal money out of your own pocket and then trying to refinance once you've owned it a year to a mortgage with longer amoritization to increase your cash flow

Hi,

If any folks here have used a good, honest and reasonably priced handyman (for smaller jobs like faucet leaks, paint, carpet, landscaping work, etc) and were satisfied with the work done, I would really appreciat...

Tell her Robert Adams referred you.

Refer the leads over to real estate agents, L/O experts and so on..

Here is what I was referring to - it applies when your residence is converted to rental use:http://www.irs.gov/publications/p551/ar02.html#en_US_2010_publink1000257022

It also varies by state, but the minimum I know of is that you have to warranty the home ( I assume you are referring to SFH) for 1 full year, I have heard of other states requiring 5 year warranties but haven't validated that.

For references to property managers it seems I would probably would need to do that.

This is the sort of deal I was referring to with my higher 20% number.

As to the costs being worth it, I would say for me I checked them out thoroughly by references from others before I moved on spending any money being mentored and coached, and I then paid handsomely to 2 different and very successful individuals, and a local club as well....it was well worth it because I was held accountable for taking action as the deals were coming in to make it happen....I made the people hold me more accountable than I think they even wanted to be....they kept telling me most people won't do what we tell them they must do to be successful in REI....so that is what I did to get going and be successful in the REI....took action along the way....it costed me 5 figures in coaching and mentoring and costed me sleepless nights to change my mindset about what it was going to take to get the job done...some people say it takes 10,000 hours to perfect a new skill...it didn't take me that long and I'm not perfect but I am doing well in it and I really love it as well...and I was 50 yrs old when I started so had a lot of preconcieved ideas and mindset to change....but REI is a great thing...worth it for new friends, $$$$$$$, time and freedom....focus...etc....hope this helps you!