I've lived in the middle TN area for a majority of my life and interested in getting started with buy and hold investments in this area.

While you can always negotiate for reductions in contract services, building maintenance costs are going to be what they are, utilities will continue to creep up (tell him to expect a major increase in WASA costs in FY2016 if he's not already aware of it), and you need to make sure that reserves are being properly contributed to.  

Now to find someplace else to spend that cash...maybe on a deep fryer or three...Some before pics posted below.Don't have a great pic of the exterior yet; this one was creatively cropped by the seller to avoid the tarp covering a large portion of the roof..Room where the majority of the smoking was done, apparently:So that's the original carpet color...

Vast majority are not going to have 20% down to go to a local bank and I am not interested in financing the deal myself

My purposes in investing in real estate are primarily to stop diverting a the majority percentage of my income into rent, provide myself with a location where I can practice regularly, and build wealth with the property long term.

If you're confident and knowledgeable, people will respect that you've gotten as far as you have at your age, and it won't be a major drawback. 

I was able to purchase properties in 12 cities just 3-4 years ago that have all doubled or tripled in market value while collecting large monthly rental income that can never be duplicated.The window is closing in most major markets I believe to duplicate what was done over the last several years, however with our help we can help you find the last few that can make your retirement healthy again.

I think the dreamer / hobby-business aspect helps: Most people pick RS for certain reasons & entry/exit can be (rather) fluid-- it's not like most of us picked this major in college, and feel trapped in a system as a professional  we didn't understand as a teen-ager.

Furthermore the majority of agents don't own property outside their primary residence. 

Option period just expired with the inspection popping one major problem with the HVAC that seller is fixing.