@Patrick Irish, If paying money buys you peace of mind then go for it. 

First, I'd recommend getting to know what different avenues you have such as wholesaling, buy and hold, developing, "house-hack", etc and seeing what you're comfortable with.

So if you want to buy a house to live in as an owner occupant, you have to get the tenant's permission to buy it (and to sell it).

Not all of them have millions to buy a house.

The groups with the largest marketing budgets get the most leads, which by sheer volume will convert more investors, which means more equity to buy deals.  

If you're painting a rental buy the cheap stuff and make sure it's semi-gloss.

The sooner you can buy and the more you can buy the better off you are 

For 1031 exchange, let's say you buy a replacement property that appraises for much more than the purchase price.

. - First and foremost, and not unique to Indy, obviously interest rates have been the main character in the story for anyone looking to buy.

@Ryan BiankowskiIn my opinion, if you have no experience flipping houses, no experience dealing with contractors and this is your first deal, $10K is nothing.Sorry to burst your bubble.An unscrupulous contractor will burn through your $10K in one day..... literally and you may never see him again.Assuming you have no experience, I would advise you as a starting point to slow down, sit yourself down, and buy J Scott's books for $49.00........and save yourself $9,951.00.Make sure you read them through thoroughly at least once, if not twice before making your first move.There are other good books out there, maybe a good local mentor that you can learn the ropes from and even some good "guru's" that you can learn from despite all the guru bashing on BP but I would definitely start with J's books.Said books are:The Book on Flipping HousesThe Book on Estimating Rehab Costs