OK, good luck with that if you have easily accessible assets like a home you don't live in.Meanwhile, what are the odds a term life insurance policy pays out? 

Many of the investors that I work with are from the West coast or the Northeast and it just doesn't make sense for them to invest around where they live.  

Cost of living increases are real.

If you're comfortable living where you are, equity in your current property or your savings rate would be the two other ways to get your next one which is going to be much slower.

I own a single family home in Socal that my wife and i currently living in.

I like to look for locations that are good, and that I’d feel safe and comfortable living in if I was a single woman with a couple of kids.

use 25% expense for your #3

basically if anyone has any tips when it comes to researching plots of land in order to make the right purchase i would greatly appreciate it get with a realtor. we underwrite land at no more than 10% of after built value. in our market we build under the average new build value which is about 515k. we like to be around 420-450k and smaller footprint about 1500 sq ft with attached garages. we build close to urban core where everyone wants to live and net migrations match up. but suburban is fine. if you give more context I can help but in most markets land is a buyers market. most people aren't looking at it or buying it. 

I'd recommend working with a good strong property manager that lives in that area that can check on them.

Syndicators who bragged about how smart they were, showed off fancy lives, cars, private jets, and mansions, second homes, and wrote books and sold expensive courses about how smart they are at investing are being exposed all over the place.