@Amanda Nicolet Analyze the deal property by property to see if initial numbers make sense.

Comps for predominantly rental areas are driven by the income it generates & market sales reflect the proper usage of the property, vacant or occupied. 

There are a couple of investment reasons not to do it, one you will reduce your return on investment and second, based on the opportunity value of cash, you are buying cash flow at a rate of $2 for ever $1 it generates.

Can you significantly add income that the property generates, lower expenses that the property currently has, and can you do all those things while making an 'investment'.

Preferably as many units as possible but with hidden value in making improvements (the unfinished attic in our current house was a goldmine) a.My feeling is auctions are good place to go for this but I don’t know anything about auctions. 3.Rent a property to live in for the first year I can’t subject my fiancé to living in a gut rehab again 4.Use the cash generated from the property and work during that first year to put together a down payment for a house for us. 5.Re finance the rental property and buy more property.These are my other day one questions: 1.I’m an architect, does anyone have any advice for actively leveraging my skills to help me do this real estate investing thing full time/ what career change could help me ease into this while still having a salary?

I have used hard money in the past to fund my flips and I’m trying to avoid that if possible due to the initial cost of the loan (my hard money lender charges $1500 in fees at closing ($500 for appraisal + $1000 in “legal fees”, I’ve never gotten clarification on exactly what that is) Plus 2 points at closing.  

A lot of people start out doing this to establish credit, generate income, and learn the property management/investment process.Most importantly, I recommend you read every book possible on real estate investing.

While it met be $300/$400 hour for the time you “think” they spent, what about the 75% of their time with clients who never generate a commission, let alone marketing expense, fees, time, etc.?

I think they can handle a single unit, but there is an initial set up fee of $150.  

I mean specifically in trying to get commercial selling agents to respond to my initial email (saying I'm interested in a property) or voicemail or message I leave with a secretary.