After the auction is finished, I go into their office to sign paperwork and a week or two later, I have my hard money loan on the property.

Now I have a base . ( and a future rental ) Then I would build my credit while looking for a nother house for me to move in , then rent the first . 

If I will be investing thousands of dollars I really think the cost of airfare and a brief stay can't be compared.

The owner before me had collected first and last month's rent, AND a performance bond that would be refunded after proper performance of the lease. 

A good accountant and a good broker are worth the money in the long run!

A lot of lessons learned and A LOT that needed to be done from top to bottom.

Our property had shown signs of termite damage to a structural beam during the initial inspection, and I paid for both a structural engineer (to verify the beam’s integrity was sound) and a termite inspector (to verify there was no active infestation).  

The difference between a true cash buyer and a "true cash buyer" is where the action is; make sure you drill down on that!

You need to structure the deal as follows:700k purchase 100k construction (deferred maintenace)800k total acquisition20% down consisting of two parts... 80k refinancable equity from your condo and a 80k seller note 2nd mortgage (your dad) Wrap up those big ticket deferred maintenance items right away.

You are saving up your down payment anyway, I would wait until a good 4 unit comes along. if you’re only putting down 3.5%, the difference between the down payment for a 4 unit and a duplex/triplex is not gonna be that big.