Maybe you could get a second job as a helper to a contractor/rehabber and "learn while you earn"?

The realtor told me it takes a special person to invest hard earned money into these properties and I'm not sure if "special" means "stupid."

We want to invest long-term into assets, build passive income, and give back to Austin, TX in our own unique and artistic ways (especially in the BP community which I just happened to stumble across as well)!

I would eventually like to build a portfolio myself and start earning some passive income from rentals.This community has really opened my eyes to some “new” ways working in this business, and I look forward to talking with you and asking a lot of questions.

Ask them to pay for utilities, prorated by square footage, or pay for utilities but have a cap, like if total bill exceeds X the tenants are responsible for the overage, or if bill is under X, a rent credit of a certain amount is earned for the following month.Is everything else separated?

Just like self-directed IRA, truly self directed Solo 401k allows you to invest in alternative assets, but it also offers some unique features that are not available with SD IRA, which make this plan superior to SD IRA.

I would be managing the property myself, but as it was built in the '40s and I've already had some issues with it, I figured it'd be too much of a headache to earn too little of a monthly cashflow.

So the hard money lender needs to earn 12% but that doesn't stop him from trying to earn 15%, which makes his investors happy by making everyone more money which also attracts other investors.

So, for instance, not picking on anyone, the trade line paid which caused 5 years of negative affects is unique to that person and the creditor.

I can learn and perhaps earn a bit until I can buy and hold or fix and flip.