Combine that with people choosing a market just because it's cheap (somehow over-looking the golden rule of "you get what you pay for"), and you can begin to see why the failure rate of OOS investors is so high. 

I’ve got a lot of experience in the rehab and renovation side of things, and combined with my real estate background, I can help spot potential issues before purchase and give you ballpark estimates.

That’s how people get stuck.When you’re still learning, start with rehabs that can function as a rental and can absorb your mistakes.

I love the creative thinking in combining a 1031 exchange with house hacking, but if you sell your single-family rental and use the proceeds to buy a duplex where you live in one unit and rent out the other, you can’t defer 100% of the gain.If you move into one of the units, the IRS will only let you defer the portion used as an investment through a 1031 exchange.

In situations like this, flexibility in funding is what keeps flippers moving and protects your profit margins.Right now, most investors are leaning on a combination of private money, hard money lenders, and partnerships.

You can let the market appreciate over time, force it by rehab or use down payment - usually a combination of all of them, but with 0% equity I don't even know if I'd call that an investment.For a portfolio 50% to 75% is sensibel leverage, if you fall below that you are leaving money and opportunity on the table, if you go above you are redlineing on the risk scale, thats not sustainable for long.

Ron closed more big deals than everyone else combined.  

However, this limit gets combined with your other w-2 so be careful there.

Leveraging your network, especially with the military community, is a huge advantage — those connections can open doors to deals, partnerships, and mentorships.Getting your license is a smart move, and combining that with learning different strategies (buy-and-hold, house hacking, wholesaling, etc.) will give you flexibility to pivot as opportunities arise.

It also requires a specialized custodian and a bit of extra paperwork.If you do wind up using cash, other savings, or even a combination of cash and other funding sources, there are also creative financing options out there today.