SCAM!

It does not sound as if these tenants are attempting to scam you.  

But I've decided that owning and running apartments is one of the few things (if not the only thing) that's ever actually, genuinely sounded both interesting and profitable to me, and I would love to devote my time and energy into starting a company and building it up to something significant.I like the idea of being able to do this in another state as well, but one step at a time. 

That's a common scam slum lords pull around here, as it's a good way to milk the city for money.

The idea of building a REI portfolio in our desired retirement location makes a lot of sense, from the perspective of being able to tackle the PM once I retire from the military and have more time to devote to RE.

This popped up on social media, and my first thought was "SCAM!"  

Originally posted by Account Closed:Credit repair companies that charge upfront are running a scam.

@Steve Rozenberg I think the answer is: it depends... how much money you have to invest, what's your expertise in, what's your risk level (most of it comes down to risk vs reward), how much time can you devote to the investing business, who are your partners, at what point you enter the market, are you generating active or passive income, etc...You need to provide about your specific case to get a more specific response.

I don't currently have an accountant; I have been a devoted Turbo Tax user for over 15 yrs.

Here's some information on the CPI scandal http://humanevents.com/2008/01/25/the-center-for-public-integrity-and-a-media-scam/.