Because it's my money, I care more (I get 92% of the revenue, PM only 8%, and PM team member near 0%), I only had my units to manage (PM team member has other owners and units), and, with humility, I am smarter and harder working than the team members assigned to my portfolio (3rd party PM has to hire at a level that makes the business model financially work for them). 

Prioritize your financial stability.

I'm totally confident in my new financial famiy...

The goal is to achieve and maintain financial freedom.

Have a baby, and gallop into the sunset (while still making calls to PM's)INTEREST:I first got interested in Real Estate Investing because of the potential financial freedom it can provide to me and my family.

We decided the cost was too high and it was not worth it from a financial or risk perspective.  

If you believe you will be financially ready to build a year from now, perhaps you enter into a lengthier contract where you can obtain all of your building approvals and then settle at a later date.

@Denise Lang some copy & paste thoughts:TYPES OF RENTAL INVESTMENTSRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

So REI in California only makes sense if you've been there since the 70s or 80s OR if you're financially well off and can afford a few million dollar properties. 

However, if you are an out-of-state slumlord, you can now pass 100% of the financial and legal liability of maintaining a property onto some poor local.