Just make sure to provide a nice, comfortable, clean, safe and furnished place. 

The ratio of new jobs to new home starts is a staggering 2:1 making that growth sustainable.

Starting with a single-family rental (SFR) property is a practical approach.

Here are some local meetups and groups in the Portland Metro area that you might find helpful:Local REIA Group: A solid place to start for networking and learning as mentioned by Melissa!

So, I am back where I started and have a W2 again (in my own biz) and we have a small team managing the rentals, I only get involved with buying and with bigger construction issues. 

Then, started a family and became a union carpenter.

Thus the greater fool theory.Personally, I steer away from D class properties and try to go to C+ to B- areas where you get good hard working people with families that want a safe place to live.  

The place I am at now is trying to figure out how to get the funding to do these kinds of deals. 

In my area a lot of the travel nurse contracts start mid-month so I see an influx of request between the 1st and 15th.

But that's a fair starting point.