It's great to see people in the area, I'm a strong believer that there is power in numbers.

My wife and I are working now to better define the roles that we play in our company.

@Dan FisherThe Solo 401k is a more powerful retirement plan than a SEP and will provide you with full ability to self-administer.  

I am primarily interested in buy and hold investing and prefer to focus in a midwest market to maximize my buying power and cash flow.

If it's an appreciation play, I'd go for Fruitvale SFR.- Neighborhood is getting better.

There are better deals to be had with the current energy downturn in Houston.You might be able to work a good Section 8 play in the area but I wouldn't take a property there even with a 15% cap rate over a 12 month period - in the long run your place is gonna get trashed.  

The next play would be to refinance and reinvest.  

@Robert Seed  Fellow nor Cal transplant  ( living in Orygun) but I found Charleston about 2.5 years ago and just love doing business there. we are pending on our first multi in the Wagner terrace area.. its a reposition play.. from one coast to the other..

do not get carried away, play conservative on your first deal, leave some room for error.3) Find a qualified and experienced contractor, do not settle for cheapest, you want experience here, because their is a significant administrative burden not only paperwork, proper formatting, but also financial constraint on the contractor as these sometimes have $0 prepayment to contractor.

I'm Travis and currently reside in Muskego, WI, I came upon this site while researching real estate opportunities with low start-up costs.For the past 24 hours I have been completely wrapped up in reading through the abundant amount of information throughout this site and realized that this is a forum where I would like to become a more active member.I am completely new to real estate, outside of purchasing my current home I have no true experience within the industry but the more I learn the more I enjoy it thus far.Truly wholesaling has been the most appealing concept to me, which not only comes to play due to the low funding required but it has been the most interesting topic of research for me.I look forward to being an active member of this community and learning from the many experts who are willing to share their expertise.