I understand the benefits of the on-the-ground knowledge and the unique perspective an investor-agent brings.

@Michael Swan knows this well.Don't blame an entire market for your mistake.Anytime you group together an entire region like the "Midwest" or "Greater Cleveland" and call it one "market", you're missing a key element which is everything in real estate.LOCATION!

After getting interested in real estate earlier this year, a couple friends and I decided to start networking and expanding our knowledge in real estate in hopes of getting an early start to a unique and productive investment portfolio.

I pay 99 dollars a month for Investor carrot to host my website... but other than that... 0 dollars.You are not unique when it comes to money holding you back.

I'm looking to structure a partnership deal with my mom, and haven't been able to find a similar situation yet, so I'm hoping I can get some help here on the forums!My mom owns a house that has been rented before, but...

Right now all the tenants are single males,   though when I bought it one unit was occupied by a family.A lot of steps will certainly deter some people,  but I haven't had any trouble renting these units  (decent units in a working class area renting at working class prices in a region that is overall pretty expensive).     

My situation is fairly unique.

Some regions fare much better than others. 

This was a cold call (off market) deal and we have taken a mom and pop hotel and added value in many ways, increased occupancy and ADR (average daily rate), integrated with OTAs (online travel agencies) and increased marketing efforts to emphasize the strengths of the property as a destination for tourists visiting our region.

It's a fantastic way to build long term wealth and the appreciation in San Diego is very unique.