Making the tenant accountable can counter this waste.Some of my landlord friends have "Christmas Story" type basement fights with the boilers in winter (or big plumber bills--to pay them to fight)...Of course, your market, energy sources, and your building type may vary, but any solution where you can make each unit responsible for its own heat and hot water (and minimize maintenance) is ideal.

Ideally, I'm aiming to do that a lot sooner though.

Rents are about $1200 for a two bedroomWith a mortgage I can pay on my own, even if I lose both tenants, so up to $2000 per month in total expensesI want to ideally find the ugly duck in a cluster of nicer complexes, so, a property that is livable, but where I can add value with some light of medium remodeling and beautification/upgrades.

hey @Mindy Jensen I can give you some direction since I deal with multi family legislation and laws in Colorado, but I'm not a lawyer so take it for what it is.

Hi All,Posting this in light of the BP article sent out today "An FHA-Financed Duplex is an Ideal First Investment Property: Here’s Why"So I already have one duplex. 

Ideally, somewhere close by to our new home.So far, we've narrowed down my listing to the following states and cities:1.

Here's my back story:Several years ago I read "The Millionaire Next Door" and "The 4-Hour Work Week", and the main point I took away was that a 9-5 job is likely not the ideal path to a high-quality life of financial freedom, pursuit of interests, long-term wealth-building, and quality family time.  

Hello BiggerPockets forums.As a bit of background, I'm in Memphis, TN, and while I have well over a decade's experience in investing, I have never done any real estate investments other than some REITs.I have about $12k to invest and excellent credit, and am looking into investing in rental properties.My thoughts are that I should start with multi-family units with existing tenants, as I'd ideally like to keep some of that money left over in case of unforeseen expenses, and I really don't want to dip into my backup funds unless I have little other choice.My questions are 1: Is this a workable strategy?

Right now, I'd ideally like to pony up a few bucks to invest in someone else's flip or purchase, but the only person I know that I'd be comfortable with doesn't really need any help at the moment. 

What would be ideal is something similar to how an executive coach or mentor would teach you, but without the hype and BS of the online programs.How do you guys recommend that I get started?