At this point I am still learning but I just pulled the trigger on a duplex for my first investment 2, 3/2 units in North Miami, FL (33161) for 270k.

@William Morgan  most parts of the country are not blessed with our state of the art title plants . they have no clue what the customer service part of a title co is or even exists.. jFor me I can call any of my title companies on the west coast and in 90 seconds get a verbal date down.. capturing all but the most obscure liens .. but enough to know if I want to persue it or not.and its FREE.those that have to work in like IL which is totally *** backwards  or states with closings attorneys this information is much tougher to get and NOT timely.. can take 3 to 5 days to get title back.We get a full prelim or title commitment same day.. but then again most of our title plants are in the  Philippines  we do not send in live person to pull records.. 

If you're okay holding it +10 years, you might be over analyzing it but if you think you might want the capital for something else in the near term I might think twice.Just my thoughts - would be curious to know where it is if you pull the trigger.MW

This is pulled straight from BP:The 50% rule is nothing more than the fact that throughout the United States, operating expenses run 45% to 50% of the gross rents for rental properties.

Unfortunately the days of just pulling deals on the MLS are almost gone.In order for that to happen you will really need to connect with the right realtors.  

I know the mortgage payments will affect my passive income but I'm hoping to pull money against it in the future to invest more should the property appreciate.

Different times, different environment.After making the decision to go back into the game, and after months of reading and listening to BP podcasts, we finally pulled the trigger and put an offer on a house in Vallejo CA.

That's a mighty big area to farm for properties.If you're just getting started you might pull less hair out if you focus on a smaller space.

So if you have the time could you let me know where or if I'm doing anything wrong. the comps I pulled are from Zillow on the closest properties to the addresses I can find.Property Card says the property is wroth 589k at 1,201sqft 3beds/2bathsthese are the properties that have sold in the area1)$542k 1099sqft 3beds/2baths2)$475k 1445sqft 3beds/3baths3)$565k 1859sqft 4beds/4bathsthe areas price per sqft is $415, so to get the comps as close as possible I'm taking the sqft and multiplying by the average sqft of the area to make up for the area sqft of the properties and then I'm adding or subtracting to the prices the properties sold for for a new price of...1)$583,3302)$373,7403)$292,000these are the new prices I get now to my untrained eyes?

You can always check with the recording office in the county you want to work in and pull records about the property.