@Jamiel Strickland is there anyway I could get in contact with your friend, would love to have a chat with him.

Understand your comps, a agent will get you the data but it is your job as an investor to really know what you can sell it for.

Wanted to see what anyone else's thoughts are but let's say I found a broken down house, contacted the owner, and got my offer accepted. 1) Where do I get a legitimate contract to give to him with inspection and financing contingency. 

Do you know of any local contractors that I could contact to get an estimate for the rehab of the property?

I also hear you that buying a nicer primary home isn’t real conducive to the long term plans.I’ve been calculating 10% vacancy rate and understand I have maintence on two homes if I go that route.I figured the 1600+2400 payments was still under a 33% dti, we don’t have much other debt to consider.I have also considered doing the same thing but selling our existing home when we find another and not doing a rental now, it’s just the positive cash flow is not something I’ve been able to find in our market so I thought that may make it worth doing.Thanks again all good data to consider.

Do not expect to get bank and credit union favorable rates and terms, it will not happen with Hard Money loans.I wish you the best and if you have any questions or concerns just contact me.  

This is how I found my broker and other contacts.

In this day in time with instant communication there is no reason for the delay in your property manager contacting you. 

I'm looking for websites or other places I can find real time data on real estate sales so I can make solid decisions on where to focus my investing efforts. 

"Dear PM, I have made several attempts to contact you regarding my rental and would like you to respond and tell me why it is taking so long to rent.