I think it's important to have a business plan. i havent started my investing yet so take my opinion with a grain of salt but the more I think about it the more complicated it seems. really what im trying to do is just buy multi family properties at some kind of discount. add value by renovations or by purchasing in a down market. then fix it up to my companies standards and get them rented out one unit at a time. some of the things ive been thinking about include financing. how will i finance deals after the first 4 or so when the banks stop lending traditionally. also how much do I need in resurves to cover everything from fees to extra holding costs to a major cap expenditure. i want my business to have a plan so i will succeed no matter what. so i think its important to think about those types of concerns regardless of what type of investing you're doing and factor those in to your plan. im excited to save money for the first deal im only at 3k so far.

Either option depends on mostly one factor.....does it make sense to buy the lot and pay the costs of new construction, compared to what the market price for the duplex in good shape is.  

The Clothiers' willingness to take big risks, tireless work ethic and straight bullheaded drive have led us to outmaneuver, outwork and outgrow everyone by a huge factor.  

On my next deal i'm looking for more than $200 per month factoring in PM and vacancy expenses. 

With investing the odds are much less clear, and are subject to change by factors out of your control.All that said, life is a gamble. 

Usually how it is done is there is a paper map (or online map) for the region published by FEMA, showing the different areas with flood risk designations A, B, etc...and the insurance rates depend on your flood risk assessment. 

Whatever.The distance the parties have to go to get to a hearing is 100% irrelevant.The system is not designed to "keep the docket moving" at the expense of constitutional rights.

@Justin Wroblewski, I see a lot of recommendations for Venmo, Zelle, ChaseQuickPay yet these are not designed the same way a online rent payment software.

My neighbor is moving to NY for a couple years and would like for me to manage the rental of his house.Are there are factors I should consider for screening/placing a tenant in Seattle versus Tacoma?

But they're designed and tuned differently.