Red flags are vague timelines, asking for big upfront payments, or not having clear photos of completed work.A quick weekend trip to meet contractors in person is worth it, but doing some phone vetting first will help you narrow the list so you’re only meeting the serious contenders.

But besides not encouraging those areas, those areas you said are contenders, what about Detroit?

Rather, the complaint contends that they paid $1.1 million in undisclosed sales commissions to Trofimoff, Kidd and Tosta and used $11 million of investor monies to make "Ponzi-like" payments to existing investors.

A few suggestions to build a strong foundation:Books: Other folks have mentioned top contenders in here - Rich Dad, Poor Dad; The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, etc etc.  

I would contend that Texas purchase prices are not the Moabite Stone and can be cracked.

Both have private mortgage insurance (PMI) but generally the 5% down is preferred as the PMI is usually less and you don't have to contend with self sufficiency fha tests on 3-4 unit buildings. 

My understanding is that if you spread your LTCG and depreciation recapture out over, say, 15 years, then your tax liability could potentially be reduced significantly (under current tax rules).Tax pros can comment, but I contend that in the next 10+ years this will be a strategy used by a lot of boomer rental owners as they exit the market and trade rentals for nursing homes. 

I would contend that the foreclosure auctions are a dangerous place for a novice investor.

That's what the "old grey haired" investors that I've spoken with had to contend with doing.  

There are a number of issues to contend with.