I “assume” they meant you wouldn’t defer all your taxes if you used leverage on a $450k purchase instead of “spending” all your cash.

However, after accounting for long-term capital gains tax and other expenses, you would be left with $150k which is important to budget and account for.

While we were a bit over budget and slightly over our projected timeline, we were still able to force appreciate the property by $100k.

With $150k here you’re just a little tight on budget but can make it happen if you self-manage and do your own furnishing and design.  

 Seller isn't budgeting on the 1.25M asking price.

If you are able to manage it yourself, I think you will get a lot of very helpful education in real estate by spending a least a year or two doing that.You'll be able to work with property managers a lot better if you've done the work yourself for a bit, and it also helps to get familiar with the various laws and regulations you have to comply with as the owner, even if you do have a property manager in place (e.g., the new RI rental registry and associated lead paint inspections/certificates).It's up to you whether you're able to do it, but I think you'll get a lot out of the experience if you can try it for a year or two.

The successful wholesalers spend $10k + monthly on marketing3.

The systems you have in place to handle leads, follow-up and your sales processes are also huge factors.Another factor is what is your monthly marketing budget?

My ultimate goal is to become successful with my real estate investments so I don’t have to rely so much on my job and be able to spend more time at home with my soon to be wife and future children.

I did not want to spend 50K on doing separate meters for where I have my rentals it would cost me this much.