I understand the vacancy issue, and I may have  jumbled my train of thought, I don't foresee any repairs being needed because of all the work I put into it, but vacancy is a real concern.

He said, "Those that understand it, will live off of those that don't". 

And thanks for the tip about discount, that sounds enticing to the tenant for sure, even though they should just pay on time the full amount LOL.. but yes I understand it may be worth it to avoid headaches like I am in now. 

A duplex with really good numbers, however my target acquisition price is $290k (asking was $339k) based on the fact that the listing agent hinted the buyer might sell at that price (“he’d probably let it go for 290-295”) were her exact words.He came down to $315 and now $310 firm and doesn’t seem to want to budge.The property is pretty much turnkey, which is what I’m looking for, (and I understand that I’d pay more for a turnkey property) but is the highest priced property in the area (based on comps) and I don’t want to overpay.That being said, the numbers still work, even at $310k.

I understand that I would get penalizes 10%, and I would have to pay tax on the money as extra income, but if I find a real estate investment that has a return of 8-9%, I can have the 10% penalty paid back to me on the first year of owning the property and then I can utilize the future returns right away rather then waiting till I'm 62 with 401K. 

Wife would likely not understand, but we'd be debt free.

They have no excuse not to pay, because they can drop it off at the bank in person if they don't understand how to send it using their computer.Also, BiggerPockets has a list of online services here:https://www.biggerpockets.com/rei/pay-rent-online-payment-tools/

I understand most brokers want agents to go full-time but I honestly cant do that at this moment. 

Im not playing in SW WI, but i do in Northern WI, you really need to know your market and numbers, compas are tougher to understand, but I do well im my markets, the majority of my portfolio is either rural, or in towns below 15K people. if you have a good team and a PM that operates at a high level, those markets can be gold, but its not for everyone, its not easy, but generally there is little competition and high demand@Michael B. population of 70K is quite big in most of WI other than Milwaukee, Green Bay, Madison and Appleton, there are not many cities north of 50K populations. 

Would anyone suggest completing a formal business plan when starting a real estate business or simply understanding and following you goals and objectives?