I consider myself to be a relatively successful handyman in small town Iowa.

@Brant Garner @Jeff Kehl I can definitely see the higher returns relative to properties here in the West coast.

However, I finished grad school in Dec. 2016 at the age of 29 (Washington University School of Medicine in St.

Active real estate investing is too much work to not achieve outpaced returns relative to other investment options.

I am still relatively young and the only life insurance I had was through my company so I wanted something in case I lost my job.

New York (you) and Texas (me) both have relatively high property tax so it is not an expense that should be underestimated.

We still live in a great house, and our oldest is 3 years away from school age, but we lost out on a great deal and $5k in earnest money due to their slow response. 

Due to the age of the home and the fact that the seller has professed ignorance,  I have ask my buyers agent to include a lead based paint test in the PnS agreement. 

However, Treasury is supposed to release something related to Section 199A (the 20% qualified pass thru business deduction) on June 30th, so hopefully we will have a better understanding of it in early July.

The report for the 2 counties shows 1,110; age 50-89, single family homes, purchased 6/1998 or before, home value up to $250,000.If you want to follow the advice of @Nicholas L. and work in Clayton County, I'd stay away from the Absentee owners since they are probably receiving plenty of offers to sell.