A handyman/husband is a HUGE, HUGE help.My husband does the books including bookkeeping and accounting, bill paying and obtaining bank financing and he also occaisionally trouble shoots maintenance problems and suggests fixes if our handyman needs a hand and he uses his mad carpentry skills for renovating appartments. 

My goals include saving about $10-15k while at home this summer which I'm on track to hit within the next 2 weeks, it's just the initial downpayment that I'm working towards for that first property.

Starting in this third year, after the refinance, I would make $2032 a year after all expenses, which would amount to ~20% ROI based on the $10,000 paid to the seller and ~9.2% ROI based on the full $22,000 put in (including repairs and money lost in the first year).

Small homebuilders building spec homes normally use the completed contract method.

For example, if you are going to focus on Google Adwords, you have ads and are continually running optimization tests, you have all keywords setup (including negative keywords!) 

@Paul Daniels those are the two methods most often used, but if you do not want to go conventional or hard money, you would either have to go with private financing, or using some personal lines of credit you may have.

I see you're including a 10% PM fee, so I assume you're not planning on being a landlord.

I have a great team assembled, including a trusted lender and real estate agent working with me.

Or is it included with the loan?

.#5 Make Decisions Based on the NumbersYour real estate investing strategy should include the financial parameters by which you determine if a property is worth purchasing.Your strategy may include details about: Purchase price range.Investment cash needed for repairs and upgrades before leasing to tenants.Financing strategy for the short and long terms.Bargain purchase (the percent under fair market value a property must be purchased).Immediate value increase (the percent in increased value you expect after making initial repairs and upgrades).Geographic area.Net income.Cash flow.Net cap rate (annual net income/total value).When you find a potential investment property that fits within the guidelines of your real estate investment strategy, you can pull the trigger based on the numbers rather than emotions and personal preferences.#6 Don’t Buy from Unmotivated SellersMotivated sellers are usually willing to work with buyers, so focusing on finding motivated sellers can result in making great deals as a real estate investor.