I'm not quite familiar with prices in Philly, but I would guess if you could get something where your paying less than $500 per month to live that would be pretty ideal.

You can start with as little as $10K (I believe), but I think you must be accredited to invest (if I remember correctly).

Remember violations code is not building code. 

Also remember, depending on your threshold, the further from LA you get, the farther your money will go, but also your commute.To start your education, I would recommend Long Distance Real Estate Investing, by David Greene - it's not the most concisely written book, but it would certainly give you a look into what it takes to be successful at it.As for me - Since I moved to LA a year ago, I have realized that the cash flow game isn't one that I feel I can do successfully and I'll continue to buy MF's back in MA in a market I know better.Good luck and feel free to PM me if you have any questions!

With that said, I know that @Brandon Turner has said (if I remember correctly) on the podcast that he likes to get at least 12% cash on cash return and something like $200+/month in cashflow.In the stock market I am confident in about an 8% return over the long run so I obviously want to get a better return than that if I am going through the work of buying a property and also managing the rental.

Hi @Will Randolph,While you are right that you can google all of this, it is helpful to remember that the information you are looking at are averages.

You also need to remember that you never really know what you are getting into until you open the walls. 

Again, with either of these they may not be ideal for you to buy a 2nd property. 

Hi Chris, The seller wants a full price for a far less than ideal condition.

If I'm not mistaken, it was originally designed as an ideal snowbird and/or retirement community where everything needed was right in town.