Attending local real estate investors association (REIA) meetings is a great way to achieve some exposure.

Being a first-time landlord is never what people think it will be so you want to limit your personal exposure by not over-buying on units to start.

It seems a little excess to me but the most of the town-home complexes have similar HOAs.

Clean out dryer vent and add grated cover to dryer exhaust at side of garage5) Repair water heater as suggested in appliance warning on counter in kitchen: "Excessive rust in burner compartment" to restore hot water function6) Remove Shed as it appears to be sitting on the ground and is dilapidated8) Replace carpet in back bedroom due to stains9) Remove rest of exposed plywood under counters away from range and/or cover with trim to make it look finished10) Patch & paint minor drywall damage/ water spots at ceiling and at entry to enclosed porch from interior and some other minor areas

Mike, there very well could be, but those 3 probably control more than 50% of the market.I am aware of other companies that can offer a quote, but I don’t recommend them as they do not have the policy language adapted to the STR exposure that make Proper and CBIZ the main players.  

If you are at or near the social security base, the self-employment tax exposure may not be that high.

Whatever pro forma numbers you will be shown will NOT reflect your reality over any period of time in excess of a year or two and may not reflect your reality from day one. 

Since you're using VA financing on your 2nd home, you should be aware that if you're planning on using rental income from your first house (I assume is a house hack), your lender won't give you excess qualifying income for the additional rent from the vacated house on VA financing. 

As the others mentioned, a lot depends on if you are trying to go full time vs. part, and the structure around it (I mention that as there are brokerages that don't always want to deal with the part-timers or the ones only looking to do their own deals).The training is key, just to learn the trade and get exposure.

If you want exposure, do some volunteer work down by the area on a regular basis.Second, city investments traditionally don't do anything to magically increase the prosperity of the ghetto.