I'm dead-sold on building a rental property portfolio when I come back to Texas in 2015 sometime to the DFW area.Can anyone recommend a method to hone my deal-finding skills while abroad? 

She's been successful in this area and has written numerous articles on the subject for the BP blog.

It can be really hard work and have lots of ups and downs but I certainly wouldn't trade owning real estate for other methods of creating wealth

So, what method of financing would work best for a student like me?

There are numerous turn key homes the market am looking at and many are the usual 3:2 @70000 and comp rent are 900 to 1100.

I suggest goals to be numerical and measureable.

The researched methods I use to purchase and resell mobile homes are not well known nor are they advertised anywhere on this site.With all that said learn as much as you can about these acts and how to avoid breaking the laws.

@John Tan,I use Timing the Real Estate Market using the Campbell Method by Robert Campbell.

If you put pen to paper and do simple arithmetic, how long would it actually take you to equate the same cash using the rent & hold method.  

I'm not sure how Canadian appraisals work, but they could use the "income approach" as an easy method of showing how much more the place could be worth.Here is how I look at your numbers:You are spending $70,000 to renovatedAn extra $835/month (post 10% PM fee) is headed for your pocket12 x $835 = $10,020 per year10020/70000 = 14.3% cash on cash returnI would not invest in that because I like my money to be making 15% in RE investments, but if your minimum is 14.3% or lower, it looks like a good investment.