Aspiring REI - Too ambitious?

[Christopher Hughes]

Hi all, 

Like many of you I'm sure, I've come to this site with the aspirations of changing the long-term financial future for myself and my loved ones. 

Since deciding that I wanted to make REI part of my strategy for financial freedom and long-term financial stability I have been scouring this site, the podcast, numerous REI books etc.

I wanted to make this post as part of a potential reality check, to see if the goals I have are too ambitious. Now I know no one can define what is acceptable as a goal but yourself and I am familiar with the whole 10x mindset etc. But I thought it wouldn't hurt to run my goals by some with actual REI experience or those on a similar path as my own, or many of whom who have already achieved what I hope so.

The REI strategy I hope to pursue is buy & hold rental properties, as discussed in Brandon Turner's Rental Property book. I hope to acquire properties in the $70,000-$100,000 range in decent markets such as Northeast OH which can cash flow $100-$200 each unit after accounting for operating expenses.

My goal is to acquire the initial property through my savings efforts with a 20%~ down payment and then not touch the cash flow for personal consumption but instead roll it into my savings efforts to save faster and acquire a second property, and a third etc. 

From my understanding, taking this approach will not only let me build a portfolio of semi-passive (using a property manager) income generating properties but also save faster/acquire faster due to the increased velocity of savings as I use the cash flow from the acquisitions to assist with my rate of savings in order to be able to purchase more properties. 

I also have read that another potential benefit of this approach aside from the increased cash flow is the diversification of risk in the sense that it is unlikely that something major breaks on many of the properties at once, yet you are actively saving from the monthly rent from each unit as if the expenditure will occur (CapEx, Maintenance, Vacancy etc)

I don't necessarily have a specific dollar figure in mind but it would be nice to get to the point of being able to generate $2,000 a month initially which would allow my wife to stay home with our young children and still be able to steadily save and make future investments. 

I know this is a very broad description but I wanted to make this initial post to get a reality check, encouragement, hear from others who have done the same and been able to supplement their long term financial health and freedom etc. 

I appreciate any and all feedback! 

Chris