Please tell us more about the financing you have lined up - is it a traditional mortgage, DSR loan, HELOC...Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location(s) to invest in.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.So, when investing in areas they don’t really know, investors should research the different property Class submarkets.

., wouldn't call myself an "expert" because I don't really like that word, but I hope I can share some pointers since I do this for a living.The first thing would be to determine exactly who you're going after and what your objective is.

Hello, I am considering purchasing a short term rental in the OBX area.

I am currently getting things lined up to purchase the Real Estate Salesperson License course for Illinois, am reading books on sales, listening to podcasts, putting together a business plan, looking up Investor Meetup groups, researching brokerages, and just about to finish the Bigger Pockets book on "How to Invest in Real Estate. 

I have been looking into other sources of income and thought of getting my mortgage brokers license.I am well connected in my market and am still relatively young at 24 with lots of friends and peers that will be looking to purchase their first homes soon.

I've crunched the numbers and if I could purchase three four-plexes in the next ten years, that would give me the financial independence I'm looking for."2.

Then you've opened Pandoras Box and you instantly have the guys in the HazMat suits with fans and plastic sheets all over.....and a bill for $5000 for something you could have done for $50.I used to do this kind of work on the weekends when the city inspectors weren't driving around :-) haha , one time the hazmat guy come down to check for asbestos checking ; it wasn't that bad it's actually 2k and insurance company for that in my case.( To be honest, the house with water damage is good to buy because it scares the potential buyer, but if it's located in good location we could sometimes purchase the house with 10-30% discount lol but nowadays even FTHB knows this secret too so they still overbid the house )but yeah, to the OP, if you want to be sure you have to cut the drywall, the more the better.

That will make the purchase void and tie up your money for nothing. 

Take 20-40% off that price, and you've got yourself a deal--that's your purchase price.

This will give you an idea of where to be on purchase price, what you need to do to make the property similar to others in the area, and what you can sell the property for (ARV).2.