As a newbie, it seems like it is going to be critical to get that balance right between paying for quality, but not paying too much.

You don't really say what your current income, credit and debt situation is, and that will be critical to getting a mortgage on this property.

This is a critical point -- don't miss it -- unless dropping french fries into hot oil at McDonald's sounds like a good time.As long as your investment cash flows you've got income each month and then you can afford to wait for property values to turn around and ride the wave of appreciation up to the top.

This is why it is critical to make sure your numbers are solid.

Probably the other key factor is job growth, particularly in today's economic times, it's critical to driving housing demand; the Bureau of Labor Statistics is the place to find data to compare city to city and state to state.

I have been reading all across these forums and google, but I wanted to post my "to do" & "unanswered question" list for our resident experts to analyze and let me know what critical step I'm missing. 1) Get landlord insurance instead of home insurance2) Interview and find a good PM (Lynchburg, VA - anybody have a lead?)

Don't be too eager to put the property on the market before everything is 100% finished.The first week on the market is critical..

I think you are just looking for something to be critical of the new Administration.Some spouses are more involved in their husbands' administrations than others.

All ideas/criticism welcome you can be brutally honest I can take it!!!!

In the meantime, please fire away with any questions, criticisms or comments.