I only have about $5000 capital and no leads to private investors.

Cons: bedroom is very small (will fit a queen bed, but not a king), no dishwasher or laundry.I never had trouble renting it (it really was a cute place) but putting the negatives in the ad helped cut down on useless showings.

I think the benefits far out weight the down side..the amount of deals I get yearly from fellow agents that know I am in the bizz far out weight any negative.

You definitely don't want to go negative CF in exchange for appreciation. 

Unless it's $1200, you won't cover vacancies, repairs, etc. and it will be cash flow negative.

This was a town that, until I flew in to look at this property, I only knew from google-driving.

I only see "Vacant Renovation" on the policy.

This versus the warmer climate states we are getting 8 plus caps with median income of 100,000 or higher with strong growth and with 25% down have cash on cash around 14% non-recourse 10 year term loan with 30 year amort.Lenders like to see at least 50,000 population in  a 5 mile radius and not a negative population growth trend.

There are negatives to this approach (mainly living next door to tenants), but works for many.

I plan on using the money I make to finance buy-and-hold real estate deals in the Austin, TX area, where I one day plan to settle down at.My first question to the community is, Do you think it is a good idea to pay off my remaining student loan and vehicle debt before jumping into the world of real estate?