You can reach a point, at a relatively small number, of having enough rentals that you're done looking for deals altogether, and just absorb the cash and deal with the occasional repair and vacancy. 

I have 3 questions for you as I'm relatively inexperienced and definitely not familiar with either location. 

When a party related to the transaction has more than one role in the transaction or is employed by or has an ownership interest in a company that is involved in the transaction (including but not limited to third parties such as marketing companies, builder / developer, broker, or realtor), there is a non-arm's length or at-interest risk.

I’m also looking for some relatIvely local lender recommendations.

:(That just made me sick to my stomach.

I've got a lot of other contacts for GC's, Architects, subs, permit expediters, Geo/ Soils, Zoning attorney's, ADA ramp plan engineers, structural engineers, you name it related to new construction in Philadelphia.

Usually, they will have friends or relatives that still live in the area that will show the property. 

@Alan Pederson You're correct and I agree, it would be nice to get some experience with purchasing properties with an agent but usually there's tutorials about this kind of stuff so once you buy 1 or 2 properties on the MLS with an agent, the buyer should be relatively comfortable with purchasing houses.

I have 3 questions for you as I'm relatively inexperienced and definitely not familiar with either location.From a real estate perspective only:1) Would you choose Phoenix or Houston?

When I get a colleague request from someone, most of the time, its accompanied with a message so I know first who they are, and second why they are reaching out specifically.But sometimes, I get a colleague request from a name I know nothing about... not sure if they reached out related to a forum post, or if they want to pitch me on something that I may or may not be interested in.Kind of reminds me of LinkedIn, where my approach has always been I don't connect with any random person, only those that I have either met in person, or have interacted with in some business sense.