Newbie here... I'm trying to get back into real estate after a loooong break. Well, my REI didn't actually launch. I flipped one house with a tidy profit right before the bubble burst in 2008. I got discouraged, then moved on to other things.

I had taken a job overseas and I just got back over a year ago. Due to circumstances that have a long explanation (too long for this post, lol), I had to lease. My lease is now up and I intend on buying an oo home.

I have a small amount of funds I can use toward an owner occupied home, which will free up more of my income for savings which will grow to a sizable amount in a year that I can then use to start REI again. I can sell or rent out the oo home at that time then find myself another one to live in, or, I can find a property I can rent out. I like the first idea better, because (and correct me if I'm wrong) I can get better financing terms if I intend to live in the home, and I have to live somewhere, right?

I have a very strong finance background and I used to dabble in aggressive options investing. I was pretty good at it, but the ROI in real estate is just as attractive, if not better. Besides, options investing requires a lot of active attention (at least my methods did), and I found myself spending a good chunk of my day monitoring my investments and making adjustments. This took time away from my day job, and I found it to be too time consuming to continue. I was successful, but my portfolio wasn't large enough to reach "critical mass" where I could quit my day job.

As all of you know, life has a way of living itself, and I found much enjoyment in carving out a meandering path in my life, rather than a straight line. Some of that meandering has taken me to exotic locales overseas where I lived and worked with my family for a time. 

No regrets -- none at all -- but I'm in my mid forties, and I have decided my meandering is over, and it is time to build a cash flow empire of my own. Of course, meandering hasn't been cheap, so I find myself starting at the bottom again. Oh well, life's a journey!

Wes