If they leave of their own volition, then that saves you the trouble/cost of the eviction.

Our current plan is to save enough for closing costs on a home for ourselves to live in.

Then even for the things you like doing, factor in how much you'll save by doing it yourself, versus how long it'll take to pay off the cost of hiring a contractor.

My situation: I've maxed out all my the money I can save in tax-free/deferred accounts and still have about $2000/month available for savings, so I'm looking into real estate.

or should I save that premium on the side in case nothing like that happens.

I had left the corporate world with enough in savings to get us started with buy and hold rentals.

I'm new to real estate investing.I am interested because I believe in income-producing assets rather than allowing my savings to lose value in the bank.I would like to learn from you all online and in person.Please let me know which REI groups/clubs in my area that you recommend.thanks in advance!

Save your receipts for the appraiser/lender.

With this, you get 13 months of rent revenue for every 12 months of expenses Your tenants have an easier and less painful experience coming up with 2 weeks of rent at a time instead of saving for the first of the month and letting that rent payment cash burn a hole in their pockets (or accumulate during the month and going towards another bill)If they don't come up with a 2 week payment, they might only get a half of a month behind instead of a full month.

If we don't go llc, we could use fha and potentially save money and headache on creating the llc.