Real estate is the one investment that lends itself to heavy leverage via debt financing.  

I found my vehicle to get to where I want to be.

I found my vehicle to get to where I want to be.

Owning a tax-sheltered asset in a tax-modified vehicle seems a little silly.I am a big fan of owning RE with "real money" rather than retirement funds.

If you qualify - this is really great vehicle. 

I know how these things go.So think about it  fully rehabbed 40k home.. that home has to be bought for 5 to 10k  because if you want a home that is rehabbed it needs at least 15 to 25k of work done to it .. so it does not eat you up in cap ex.. so lets say the company wants to make 10k  ( pretty common for house flippers) so the most they can be in the home is 30k  so you are buying the lowest of the low at wholesale values the worse of the worse areas.. and on the face these do not equate into long term steady cash flow vehicles. they just don't  they only are sold to those to new or naive to understand this won't work long term....

Professionals with decades of experience and very impressive track records do all the heavy lifting for you.

Are there places to get some initial numbers online maybe without that heavy due diligence just as a way to practice analysis?  

You may want to consider buying Non performing notes secured by multifamily, but I'd plan a heavy capex program to stabilize and be prepared to dispel any negative press as negative past tenant reviews can be detrimental to stabilization. $10k-$25k per unit is more conducive with mobile home parks, which may be something to consider also.

I would focus on getting to know the heavy hitter buyers who buy quite a bit in your area.