I have been disappointed with a previous manager and need to start over.

Or we might be looking at the start of some tough economic times. 

But start to get out of the SAD (sad american investment diet).Real Estate Investments: Cash flow and appreciation aside for you as a high income earner over 400K AGI its going to be more about saving taxes.

If so, find an investor-friendly realtor and start looking at properties early.

I am keen on finding out whether this market is a good starting point if I wish to develop a small portfolio of say 5 rental properties over the next 5 years. 

I was debating should I do 4 plex or duplex with what I can make a down payment above between 35-40% to start with ?

I desperately need some input before I spend my $2k to get started.

I've started Partner program with Peter 10 days ago.

@Alec BildsteinHey Alec, great job on starting to look now and get your ducks in a row, it’s never too early to start looking to get a feel for the market.I’d love to chat more and hear about your real estate goals.

A little bit about my experience in Real Estate… I started a couple years ago doing some house flips in Detroit ( It was a 2 year plan) then decided to sell everything, moved to Washington DC which can't afford anything in the DMV area but last year I purchased a very nice 3500 SQFT Duplex in Shaker Heights, suburb of Cleveland.