Can't beat that Cali lifestyle though!

A job is no more than time in exchange for money.Live a frugal life style and save every penny you can.Associate only with like minded people, preferably those with money.Don't get married, or live with a partner, till you reach your investment goals.

For some places (Miami, NY) lifestyle reasons, and for other states, US is currently the highest yielding developed market, and it has a very well developed real estate service industry.Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are very nice too, but they are relatively low yield compared to many places in US.

Looking to set a lifestyle for my family.

Coffee farmer is the ideal type of retirement if this can sustain a simple lifestyle.

With investment properties when you buy can be a big issue however a personal home is not considered a investment, it is actually a liability in many ways, it is a lifestyle choice so it really doesn't matter when you buy.

Home ownership is greatly over rated and is only a life style decision.

That's life.The fact that their co-signer had even worse credit indicates this applicant has a sub par life style and associates with similar people.

Low valued SFHs can cash flow, higher value homes can not.Purpose built properties, such as multi plex units are built and designed explicitly for the use as rentals and are priced accordingly (or should be).A personal home is not a investment, it is a life style choice that will ultimately cost more to the owner than it will ever be worth (except in certain areas like CA where no one understands the value of money). 

@Jamie Carter There are two ways to answer that that seem apparent to me.1) Rents are generally lower when comparing the local market to other cities that offer similar job opportunities and lifestyle; ie, general cost of living is less in this city for equivalent opportunity and amenities.