I bet many of these same people would consider buying an investment property "risky".

Agreed, usually a SFD or small multi is much better for the landlord.I bet the OP errored in posting his numbers, what would be silly is to start out trying to rent a $1M SFD, but 10 condos might be better if that was correct.Varooom!

Are there bad real estate gurus out there, you bet there are just like there are bad college educators.

Since you're just starting out in the Houston market, your best bet may be to offer your services as an experienced rehabber to a new investor who has some capital to invest.

The rain you guys have seen over the past few months is a good example.If that doesn't work, installing interior drain tile is probably your best bet.

When you walk up to a slot machine and make your bet, your most likely result is that you will lose that bet.

Would you plan to refinance homes after repairing them or hold them with 100% equity while renting them out ?

It was suggested to me that I could use hard money to secure a property and then refinance 3-4 months or so later to a conventional loan.

That gives you a 9.41% cash on cash return before tax (about 7.5% after tax).After the seasoning period (the time that must pass before a lender will look at a new appraisal, typically 6-12 months), you do a cash-out refinance.

Rent is typically 900-1000 for 2 bedroomI will live in one bedroom as my primary residence and rent out the other bedroom.I will be financing 1/2 of the deal from a LOC with a 11% interest rate and the rest cash from savingsI will then refinance with a home equity loan.I am not applying for a traditional mortgage because i do not qualify.