Unfortunately, PM's are about as well-thought of as used car salesmen and attorneys, but that's our lot in life.

I've met loftier goals in my life....if I invest in myself, I believe I can achieve it in a reasonable amount of time...hope that makes sense.

A Property manager no matter how good he/she is , its an employee, not an owner.My target tenant is someone that is young, likes cool apartments, has sense of style, willing to pay above average rents, someone that likes to live in big cities and trendy areas.Hamilton is close by and its a big city with up and coming areas.

I'm driving hard with a rather singular focus on my goal.I want to be financially independent by 2017 for three reasons: 1) my daughter will be 5 and I want to be around for her as she is growing up, 2) I want to hike the Appalachian Trail with my dad and 3) I've learned that life can be very short and I want to experience so much of what this awesome planet has to offer.After running all the numbers, short of catching one of those crazy dot com stocks in the late 90's (and selling before it's too late) or starting something like FaceBook (or probably Bigger Pockets!?!)

Hi Bill,I'm licensed in Texas, California and Florida and was working the Texas market until my move to Florida in late 2012, and was working with Lifestyles Unlimited Real Estate Investors Group in Houston.First of all, never completely write off any source of potential properties.

You can't be everyone's friend to their life circumstances in this business or you will go broke quick.

2014 is definitely better than 2013.Buying and selling about 4 deals a month.http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/223/topics/121707-real-life-of-a-real-estate-investor

Id love to go that rout, unfortunetly we have far to much stuff that we wouldn't be willing to give up to live the RV life.

Robert,If the objective of your purchase is cash-flow, then appreciation matters little - don't get me wrong, it's still nice, but the success of the investment does not rely upon it.Matching your product - in your case, single-story (ranch style) duplexes - to your clientele ({nearly} retired, aging tenants who do not wish to contend with stairs as they grow old or those with mobility issues), whether done explicitly or intuitively, is the key to low turnover.We are considering a multi-family unit which is comprised of 25-row houses in a single story garden home format as it has an appeal to our aging population.

I have absolutely zero real life Real Estate experience though so I could be way off base in that assumption.