People that bought their houses in the late 90's still had plenty of equity in their homes during the most recent crash, provided they did not pull equity out on the way there.How is it any better having put all your cash into one house and that one house going down in value?

Great advice, Ned.Andre - There are plenty of Long Island folks here . . . as a former Long Islander, I try my best to catch them as they join.

Sant Sobhraj i'm looking into Newark myself and the reason why is because I was raised in North Newark and still have plenty of family there.

Of course there is a risk in tenant not renewing its lease but good leases cause tenant to give you plenty of notice if they are not renewing which will allow you to find the next tenant usually prior to lease expiration.4.

The foreclosure wave that has hit the nation has left plenty of opportunity to purchase steeply discounted property everywhere I've looked.

You really need boots on the ground.I personally would not invest in property that is not in my metro area that I could go by on a regular basis, much less in a different country, but I know that there are plenty of people on this blog who have done it successfully.

If you know how to use a tape to measure a building and a room and how to put numbers in a spreadsheet, you can do this.If for some strange reason your REIA doesn't have such a sheet, there are plenty available elsewhere. 

(I liked that old song, LOL) Plenty of pros in your area at REI clubs, check them out if you need help.

IMO, 1M is plenty, unless you have more to lose.

You will have plenty of time to set up the LLC between the date you sign the contract and the closing date.