In Option 1, you see a small galley kitchen that opens up to some informal eating situation (the "furniture" in the plans is just to get an idea of the room, by no means what it will necessarily look like), and then that room opens out into the living room area.

Scott Trench wrote a great article along these lines here:https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/becoming-a-landlord-the-easy-way/The financial/wealth doors that open up by starting out with investments INSTEAD of a big, awesome, shiny primary residence, are incredibly powerful, and well worth the sacrifices made at the beginning of your journey.It is also fortunate that we are in a market that, in most areas, is appreciating healthily.

Investors are unlikely to pay you more for a property they could have purchased directly for less.Add to this the fact that, if you purchase the properties outright from the brokerage, you will have extra closing costs (the first purchase), loan fees and potentially other costs that eat into your margins.All-in-all, this doesn't sound like a good way to try to make money in this business...

Given the numbers/scenario here: Mortgage $1,750Rent Income $1,200Owner Payment $550Wouldn't the additional maintenance costs eat away at the rent income and make this a bad deal?

Isn't the turnover rate going to eat heavily into that 25% in a junkier area.

The 30-year mortgage allows more time for inflation to eat away at the real cost of the mortgage.

DON'T take HML rates for long term buy and hold because they are usually so high they eat up your profits.

What I derived from you and the rest of the comments mentioned is pretty much to eat this big elephant one bite at a time and not to get way over my head on my first property.

Also, property management will eat intomy profits. 

If you go OOS, you have a lot of risk, earning say only a hundred a door, or your 20% gets wiped out when the market dips, or when a $1,000 repair will eat all your profit for the whole year -- meaning you are working for free for your property and only gain the equity/principal payments, or you have to fly there to take control over it, or signing a contract that has flowers that bloom gold that never really happens.