It takes years to gain the knowledge and experience necessary to become a professional in any industry/business, so why not cut down your learning curve and use another person's knowledge, skills and contacts to get started sooner rather than later.

Are Realtracs numbers just as good to plug in for me to practice my analysis skills?

Part of what I do is to help bring them to a more realistic vision.I've become quite adept at Google Sketchup, which allows me to plan (to scale) what I want to do with an area, and I think these skills could definitely apply to an overall home rehab.

Things have been a lot tougher the past year (not just here, but all over the country), so you have to have marketing and negotiation skills -- you can't just buy stuff off the MLS like you could from 2008-2011 (those were great times :).Good luck!

We just acquired a property in suburban Portland OR where almost half the tenants had bought and installed window air conditioners (with various amounts of skill).

There are plenty of real estate "gurus" that will spout off how you too can invest in real estate without any money, any credit, any education, any skill, etc. etc.

I do not have licensed guys for anything that's relatively low skill.2) I would get a policy equal to the arv of your property (i spend the 15 bucks extra per month to not have to worry!)

Currently I would need to make $150k a year in real estate to match my near term earning potential at my job (plus medical and retirement with a pension).

Not everyone you encounter will be someone you want to make your close friend, but you’ll certainly have the chance to work with a smorgasbord of personalities.Development of skills: Property management requires diverse skills,because you must handle so many different tasks (like marketing,screening, and maintenance, just to name a few).

True, you can not tell certain skilled pros what they should charge but you can tell them you are not willing to pay their price.