I am looking for financial tips for my particular situation....

I don't really have much real advice here, but on top of what the others have said, I'd recommend doing some research into the stats about the influence of money coming down from Vancouver.

You need no experience with an apartment complex with multiple units where one vacancy does not hurt so bad financially. 

The goal would be to ultimately invest into rental properties and such so I could become financially independent.

Just because of the financial impact.Nursing and real estate agent are both demanding professions.

The existence of a lease with financial ramifications to the buyer would have to be disclosed by the seller. 

At the same time, going through a private money lender or hard money lender is often times more expensive, so you need to make sure you have a solid game plan and the deal financials can support this type of loan.

My thoughts are to go ahead and pay my house off, which will grant me financial independence.

we've been asked the same question by a dozen or so good friends who live in/near SF about whether it's worth postponing the ownership dream, given where the bay area market is in 2018. personally, I think that right now is the time to hold off on entering the bay area market... unless you find a truly off-market, discounted opportunity through networking or a personal connections.sidenote: moving to the east bay (alameda, particularly) actually shortened my commute time into my day job in SF, compared to when i lived in SF. i'm sure you've heard this perspective before, but there's goodness to be found in the east bay, if you are dead set on buying in 2018/2019.from an investing perspective, there are still strong returns to be found outside of california. that's why we recommend to friends with capital that they consider looking into investment. that way they can start building wealth now and position themselves for buying that beautiful home when the time is financially right. sidenote: i recently posted on a similar topic on this thread. you can see if you scroll down and there are dozens of other helpful comments on this topic, on that thread: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/587593-general-do-you-rent-or-own-the-home-you-currently-live-in?

Yeah, I struggle with the idea that I will be taking on a lot of risk both financially and working with newbies.