we are over-the-road truckers who own our own truck and LOVE real estate. we've been looking at buying for the last 3 or4 years but i wasn't comfortable with it because of the bubble. glad now that we waited. bought our own truck instead of buying a house and it was the best thing we could have deon. we have to start saving 2-5 thousand a month towards the eventual goal of buying another truck (5-6 years away) and it seems like the perfect time to actually finally start investing in real estate, since we sure can't make any money by just "saving". our goal is to buy rental properties - probably one every two years for the tax savings - and eventually end up with about 6-8 keepers that will generate income for our retirement, whihc is only about 20 years away. i'm thinkng it makes sense to start out with a 3 unit since funding is easier to get than with a four unit. also thinking it makes sense to start with an area that is a little more on the stable end of the spectrum and is an area where we would like to have a house to keep to live in in case of it not ending up being a good income property. i'm tempted by all the cheap properties available, it would be really cool to just slap down 10,000 and own a house next week. But... i'm guessing there could be some serious hidden risks to that if it ended up you couldn't rent the place out. on the other hand, we have a major terminal in ohio and it does seem like a great time to just buy up a new cheap property every month or so until prices start going up and then look to rehab and flip or rent. what do you all think?

Very Slowly - measure twice cut once.

You may wish to consider some of the following:

• Establish your permanent base of operations.

• Deal with responsible local experts, the first being an accountant regarding both your current and foreseeable income stream and financial position, goal and foreseeable tax benefits or consequences.

• With the knowledge of your financial position, check with local lenders regarding current rates, terms and conditions with respect to financing the purchase an Investment (Income) property as opposed to a residential (owner occupied) property.

• Be prepared to answer a lender, in the event they want to know who will be available to manage the property on a regular basis, collect the rents, make repairs and keep the financial records, etc.?

• Engage a real estate agent who has a fiduciary duty to you e.g. a buyer’s agent and insist that a termination clause be inserted in your agreement in the event of a conflict of interest, otherwise you just might be directed towards transactions that benefits the agent more than it does you.

There are a multitude of things to consider that cannot be covered here, the rental market, leasing, the screening of tenants, current landlord & tenant laws, etc. etc. etc.

Important Notice: This information is provided as basic educational information by the author and is not a substitute for the advice of an expert and/or the advice of a lawyer. There is NO representation as to legality, accuracy, correctness of the herein information and the reader is strongly urged to consult a lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction to ensure accuracy before acting on this information

guys I am very happy to get some ideas with you, thank you for sharing.