I love the idea of 1 loan to include the rehab cost's.

So let me decipher this, if i understand this, you have someone that wants to be an onsite manager but in return he wants some income, low rent on his apartment along with utilities and cable included ?

This the synthetic wood floor?

I realize I cannot simply buy a house and immediately start renting it out, yet I am very happy at the place I'm currently living ($600/month ALL utilities included).

welcome to BP @JD Thornock , just make sure you do your due diligence here in texas, cause you can get burned here to, not including the summer heat

FYI - The quotes do include wind (hurricane) coverage which is a necessity around here.Are these quotes typical?

I owned 40 rentals which included apartments, duplexes, multi-families and single family homes. 

I am upfront my down payment comes from a cash out and no one has rejected me yet.Counting all your rental income to offset current mortgages is key (including the cashed out, now mortgaged duplex).

So this is the path I've chosen to follow up to and including being part of my retirement.I believe that networking and gathering real life experience from doing work myself along with following other's guidance (who have been there/done that) will garner me more knowledge and success than paying "gurus" thousand of dollars for bus trips through a city and region I already know well.I am still formulating a 5 year plan (yes, they are passe now a days but I'm old school) and I feel the first steps would be to connect with other REI's, join the local REI Groups and begin growing my network.Any guidance, advice and suggestions from this point forward will be greatly appreciated!

My townhouse is purchased with an FHA mortgage and has PMI as well as HOA of 192/ month that includes water and basic cable.