The really good deals tend to disappear fast so you just have to keep watching and you can probably get houses for 100k there.One other note.

This is driving me nuts.

I think the best show is Property Ladder. 90% of the time, they show some first timer trying to flip the house and going nuts, usually breaking even or losing money.

Anytime a place is empty many landlords tend to catch up on deferred maintenance, this is a bad idea as it costs you in forgone rent.

This time tends to be a down period for real estate..

I just tend to always size up my wire.

:oops: There's still a fire in me to get into investing into real estate, and with a few minor changes to my mind set I belive I'm ready to step up to a career to get some good hard money saved ( And hopefully have some fun and learn some lessons along the way ).I wanted to know in a nut shell what types of careers there are in real estate and what perhaps would be a recommendation for a 20 year old with no experience.I was thinking perhaps starting as a real estate receptionist ( one with VERY good ears, hint hint ) to break into the career and eventually the market.

While its hard to make a general rule, the most profitable rentals tend to be lower end.

Cheap fast food tends to do that.

Markets tend to be driven partly by emotions and they shoot up beyond FMV on the way up and below FMV on the way down.Many parts of the Mid-West seem to have shot down below FMV and the absolute dollar prices of homes makes people's eyes pop out.