I am making my first trip to Philly later this month, where I am planning to do my next buy and hold investment.  

Nothing to be ashamed of doing this strategy either, as long as you stick to your plan.Personally, my favorite REI article of all time, written by @Brandon Turner below, is how I modeled my strategy off of (thanks BT!) 

Cincinnati misses out on some of them, due to its smaller size, which means you'll sometimes then have to drive to another city if you want to see your favorite act.  

That was more a trip down a fantasy "maybe" land than reality. 

Our favorite is to get private loans from ma and pa lenders, but that's just one of many.

If you and your IRA own more than 49% of the LLC, there are still very strict self-dealing rules that can trip you up.  

Is a trip to the court house the best way OR do you mail to all probates?  

The Harford Rd corridor (Lauraville, Hamilton, Parkville) is my favorite part of the city to invest in.  

also read some books from the Library or just buy: The Weekend Millionaire, The Millionaire Real Estate Investors These are my two all time favorites (they have cheese titles but very good readings) And most importantly you should go to your local  Real Estate Investor Club  a few times and observe who are the "do-ers" and not the "talkers".

Scouring craigslist is one of my favorite past times.