It takes the posiblity of human error away.

I was beginning to think my idea absurd, even though it makes complete sense in my head...all it would take is the right agent to agree to easy money.

Because our real world is very ugly, many bad guys and lairs are all around the world hurting human beings.

People are out there paying absurd amounts for properties, so it's tough to find a good deal at a solid cap rate.

@Mindy JensenI appreciate the response and I guess that is precisely where I need to start because all of the things that you did mention such as credit and income are things that I do not have at the moment as a college student but thank for the input so that I can at least have an idea of where to start because it literally seemed absurd to just walk into a bank at the age of 19 with no income and no credit, asking for a loan. 

(Took us 2 years of trying to get that first deal, too... got in right when prices were soaring and we were getting bid out by 30 all-cash offers, etc..)Outside of real estate, I'm a Ph.D. student at UCLA, working with big data in human genetics.

You can always get a human on the phone right away that is right here in Jersey.

That is a bit absurd.  

Taxes are absurdly low.I am also concerned about the competitiveness of the rental given the relatively high vacancy in this market.

Pros - same money, you'll learn to manage human capital more efficiently, you have FAR better markets available to youCons - haven't' noticed any yet Investing OOS is awesome, and easy.