I am not a fan of out of state, and if you lack experience, you avoid the whole mess by not proceeding. 

I have a few gold fans in my family and their argument has always been that gold is better than a savings account.

Regarding amenities, focusing on affordability is smart, but even small touches like well-maintained landscaping and curb appeal, modern or fresh paint colors, energy-efficient LED lighting, updated cabinet hardware, ceiling fans, good window treatments, and ample storage solutions all stand out and can help fill units faster and improve tenant satisfaction.

So how would you go about scaling or building your portfolio if you were in my shoes? 

One reason I'm not a fan of interest only is because if you're not paying down the loan then when and if you want to sell and buy something else.

I've been in your shoes.   

As in all things in life (like choosing a spouse)for instance, it's incumbent upon us to examine our individual personalities regarding whether a proposed partnership would be a good fit or a disaster in waiting.In 2007, when I lost more than $130,000 in the stock market,I learnt a permanent lesson that stuck with me till today.I discovered that I was a control freak.I needed to always know how my actions directly related to my results, and most often like to retain the ability to change my mind even if others would find such reversal a stupid idea.Seeing how much control I didn't have on how my stocks performed in 2008 despite all the information I had consumed for several months regarding value investing and how to analyze a company's fundamentals scarred me for life.It made a real estate investor out of me.The safety and assurance that I was taking sole responsibility for the calls i made and the risks I decided to take was a calming refuge.Having been a Pro-member on BiggerPockets for as long as I've been has its perks.It gives one a front row seat to see in slow motion the interesting evolution of the component parts that make up this mammoth industry.I watched in amusement as one member arrived as a total newbie in 2018 with a welcome post, voraciously consuming unsolicited counsel on the member forums for a few months and then posted a "success story" of his deals after 6 months.Within a year, he had his own podcast and is now buying large apartments as a syndicator pooling investors' money.To be clear, this is not a hate post.I certainly do not begrudge people "crushing it" in record time.Nonetheless, as a 'senior' member of this community who has seen this movie before,I do feel a lonely cautionary voice in the wilderness is needed at this point.We are in an environment of unprecedented cap rate compression and record low interest rates which is only headed in one direction after this is all over.Yes, make no mistake, the music will soon stop.That has very little to do with an upcoming election and is regardless of who wins the White House or who controls congress after November.If you've listened to Kevin Bupp and Rod Khleif, you know what happened to their portfolios in 2008.These were no amateurs, as a matter of fact, they had many years of investment experience when the music stopped.They both weathered the storm and came back stronger and that is why I remain a shameless fan of both men till today.Several others were not that lucky, and you will never hear their names.In this space today, there are investors and there are educators.The educators have taken over the habitat.That is why there are now more podcasts on real estate than I can get through in a working week.Real Estate education is so very lucrative now that it is possible to make way more money from podcasts and books than in actual real estate investment for some gifted marketers with smooth tongues and gifted content creators.We are in the information age after all, and youtube millionaires are now perhaps outpacing patient real estate buy and hold landlords in the passive income/ cash flow game.Belonging to a $25,000/year mastermind and attending a syndication bootcamp does not insulate anyone from catastrophe.

That curiosity and willingness to learn early will pay off big later.If I were in your shoes again, I’d try to find a paid internship or assistant role with a small property management or local investing group.

My parents built a decent rental portfolio over the years, but they did it completely on their own years ago, so I don’t have any existing contacts, mentors, or network to lean on.If you were in my shoes (limited income, basic business knowledge, and good with your hands) what kind of full-time job would you go after to learn the ropes and move closer to doing flips or BRRRRs?

What would you do if you were in my shoes?