@Jay Hinrichs it was until us public got a hold of it and started amateur-mind groups...

Hoping to not get into analysis paralysis and I am planning to pull the trigger on buyin a rental property sooner.I would love to connect with folks who are interested in Alabama (Huntsville & Birmingham) market and see if we can be mutually beneficial or just have a chat.Thanks once again to each and every one of the members for giving this power of knowledge to amateurs like me.

A couple tips from an amateur: 1) Buy a high quality camera, 2) take the picture of the front at a 30-45 degree angle (makes the house look bigger), 3) Take the pictures in the middle of the day, but 4) Don't take exterior pictures with the sun in the shot, 5) Go for wide shots that make the house look big (although I don't generally like wide-angle lenses because people actually feel disappointed when they get there) and 6) The house still needs to be nice.

And, compared to a lot of the folks around here, I'm a total amateur.  

The wholesalers that try to deal with me around here are so scared of putting some skin in the game that I just ignore them unless a real gem shows up, but since I do this full time, I usually find the deals first and have no need to have amateurs wasting my time.     

I've studied approximately 100-150 and determined that they are filled anymore with amateurs who are ridiculously overbidding. 

Then you share your "inflexible dogma" about Landlords.The coffee analogy works to demonstrate the difference between an actual business and an amateur Landlord.

There was an amateur add on, floors were sloped (no need for a level, you could just see it) and spongy, there were about 3 different types of siding, etc.  

These sort of risk management analysis and strategies IMO is the sort of thing that tilts the odds in your favor from speculation into the realm of investing, and what separates the professional investor from the amateur, regardless of the market.

@Gail Roberts , I'm not really qualified to be giving financial planning advice (I'm just an amateur real estate enthusiast.)You have $100,000 earning 6% yield in mutual funds (about $500/mo income), but you're fearful of this investment.