With our transient life style, the class/appreciation goals single family just made sense.I hope to invest in commerical, apartment and vacation rentals but I am sure something else will come up in between.

We invested all of my income into 2 pure rentals before we were transferred again.We use our transient military career to invest in personals because they have 1) cheaper down payment 2) Lower interest ratesWe live off of one income (my husband's) using mine when it exists (it can take awhile for me to re-establish myself in a new area) into  pure rentals.Because of our transient life style causing home to be "relevant" to the current set of orders.

We invested all of my income into 2 pure rentals before we were transferred again.We use our transient military career to invest in personals because they have 1) cheaper down payment 2) Lower interest ratesWe live off of one income (my husband's) using mine when it exists (it can take awhile for me to re-establish myself in a new area) into pure rentals.Because of our transient life style causing home to be "relevant" to the current set of orders.

Real estate is a lifestyle by design. 

In the Northeast, the amount of money you can make is completely normalized by high lifestyle costs.

He has and will drive vehicles until the wheels fall off,  he has a decent boat, and doesn't live a flash lifestyle, doesn't care to, however, he does own 2 timeshare properties, that him and his wife go to every year for vacation.

That would leave me $2560/month to live on, which is enough for my modest lifestyle indefinitely. 40+ years I hope.At this point, I could consider myself "retired", in the sense that my only job would be managing the managers of my proprieties.So, am I dreaming?

Find something that works for you, your lifestyle, financial goals, risk tolerance, etc.

Just like all the Gurus and "Lifestyle clubs" they're only going to show you the sunshine and rainbows and skip over all the storms and rainy days.

If you get a good deal on it, great, if you get a fair deal that's fine too. you will have a house that fits your family, your lifestyle, and you will enjoy it for many years.My advice is not to live in a "less desirable area" it will appreciate less and be harder to sell.