You could find this mythical 10 cap creature by going to a war zone or buying a piece of absolute crap but then the 10 cap returns would only be on paper i.e. you will have little to no chance of collecting most of the rental income due to you.This article might help you: https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/10776/77428-the-cap-rate-is-dead-long-live-the-cap-rate

My guess is piecing it out will save you money as different people specialize in different hings.I am not sure if you being a woman has any bearing here, but if you feel anyone is taking advantage, just move on to someone else.

Often it won't be a replaceable filter like a whole-house furnace would have, but a piece of wire or plastic mesh that you slide out of the front of the unit, wash, dry, and reinstall.If you get funky, musty smells, unplug it, and take the entire plastic front off of it. 

I know that having one or two guys come out and work on it for half a day, their tools, plus a truck full of bits and pieces they might need to finish the install, isn't free. 

I already own a home and this would be a second home (investment property).  What would be the best way to fund this deal? The bank would want %20 down. I've never looked into "hard money". I'm just trying to figure o...

First piece of advice is get yourself preapproved with a lender.

@Chauncy GrayWhen I have my closings and the banks make you sign all the papers for your mortgage there is a piece of paper in there that clearly lays out how much money you are going to be paying over the 30 years of your loan in terms of total interest.

My #1 piece of advice is to buy something, just to get the ball rolling and learn.Be smart about it obviously, but don't be one of the lurkers who we see years later who still hasn't bought anything.Experience is worth it's weight in gold.

@Christian Rodriguez, what sort of response rate did you get from direct mail... and how many pieces did you send?

This is the closest I've been to finally owning my first piece of real estate, so any advice you guys can give me would be a huge help.