For example: "Hey BP, I have been doing some research on Houston and found these statistics: there are X number of military bases, there are X number of universities with aprox Y number of students, etc.... my list is not exhaustive, but, I would love to hear from BP about what I am missing or getting wrong/right, or any other juicy data that would be helpful for encouraging investment in Houston.

And how is he/she different than an agent working at companies such as State Farm?

My project needs more than an hour or two. :-) What kind of properties are you looking for?

I also know that buying smaller crappier houses is more of a cashflow move than an appreciation move, but I want to get into investment and will likely need to start near low end of the market to make it feasible.So if it is currently rented at nearly double what the mortgage would be, the current tenants appear to be keeping it in good repair based on pictures, and it may have decent appreciation over the coming years, should the bit of crime/rough homes be a deterrent for a first time investor? 

You need to be aware of what you're buying seeing it in person.I think you can make some decent money in Detroit because it's becoming revitalized, but you will likely be looking at more of a cash flow play than an appreciation play.The best investors in Detroit are the ones who have the ability to buy into the area because they have the influence to change the area.Dan Gilbert has invested in Detroit, and it's smart for him to do it, because he's literally buying blocks of downtown area, and actually buying his own security force (basically to double a police force) to monitor and control the crime in the areas he buys.If you are just buying one house in an area, you better go check it out.  

I actually have a workshop that day in downtown Charleston, but if we're done in time and I'm not completely exhausted I'll definitely stop by.

good afternoon bpers-just wanted to get some advice from the experienced investors on here.let me give you my story**2002 to 2004- (idiot phase)-as a newbie i use my perfect credit to buy 5 homes in dekalb county,ga at prices between 80 to 100 k and put them on section 8-still working a full time job**2005 to 2007- i kind of start to acquire a lil knowledge in buying and rehabbing .i do most of the non skilled work (painting,sheetrock.landscaping etc and hire reasonable contractors for plumbing ,electrical etc. i easily replace my job income by simply selling 3 to 4 rehab homes(using hard money) per year- so i quit my job and am now a full time real estate investor**2007 to 2008-credit is still great at first however as the deals start to dry up and section 8 tenants begin to move -i have to go in remodel the rentals i have for new tenants and instead of being worth the 80 to 90 k i still owe-the rentals are now worth 30 to 40 k.i carry the wieight for about a year until i exhaust all my savings-at a certain point i cant do this any more -let all credit go (houses,credit card,cars -all of it-so now credit is too**2009 to 2010-i realize this market is actually to my benefit.i approach my main hard money guy and ask him to finance several of these low priced homes in 2 year cycles.the agreeement is i will buy 3 to 5 rentals at a time for 20 to 40 thousand dollars.during that 2 year cycle i would then go rent those houses at 850 to 900 per month-his payment would be 300 to 400.i would live off the difference.then i find other fixer uppers and do a great rehab then sale.all the profit would go to paying off the rentals.**2010 to now (worked myself to death)-basically i have been paying off between 2 to 3 rentals each year-because all of the profits go to lender i have pretty much been working nonstop -but on the flipside now i own 11 houses outright.i owe the lender on 2 more rentals (about 70 k) and clear about 10 thousand a month** now my question-if you were in my shoes -taking into account my credit situation -what would be your strategy to leverage your assets to pull yourself up from doing 6 to 10 deals a year to 12 to 20. i realize i will only get so far spending 80 percent of my time doing most of the work like i have been

And then the lender puts on a VERY expensive forced place policy.With a lengthy rehab, better to buy an "empty house" or "builder's risk" policy than an ordinary landlord policy.

Mortgage brokers many times have more overlays than an individual investor friendly lender. 

Also, the 'world', or more aptly put, the 'worldview' of an agent tends to be a bit more 'structured' than an investor's viewpoint.