Fast forward to maybe 2 to 3 months later and a mutual 3rd party friend who knew both me or my brother and the guy who got the place contacted one of us, not saying why this was but that we could have it for what he paid PLUS 5 grand, which quickly turned into just what he paid and I got the feeling this price was dropping like a rock!

Often, it's a soldier from nearby Ft Liberty that needs a place for a few months. 

Pittsburgh is a great place to get started because there are so many areas that are affordable to get into and generate a positive return.

At 4.5 stars, you are really hurting in a very competitive market so you might consider redoing the pics, more themed kids bedrooms and start over.

My target purchase price is under $1.7M and prefer cosmetic fix to start with.

@Manuel A Zuaznabarcan you start with a house hack

I want to learn how to build a sustainable business and reaching out to see if there are any mentors in the area willing to give someone an opportunity to  learn how they build their business and how they would start if they had to do it all again.

I started with an afternoon every other week, which was changed to an afternoon every week.So I put issues into 3 buckets: emergency (a pipe is leaking), within 24 hours (toilet running), and non-pressing (a door is not closing on its own), which is where most things landed and are handled that way.

Where do I start?

What are the essential first steps I should take to start this business from scratch?