Get out of your comfort zone.

My ultimate goal is to acquire enough real estate to achieve financial freedom, allowing me to travel, provide a comfortable life for my family, and teach my children about discipline, financial literacy, and the wealth-building potential of real estate.I’m here to learn, share, and connect with others who share this passion.

There is no such absolute rule or mandate for REI - it is up to you on your comfort level with your cash flow versus total investment versus appreciation potential.If I followed that rule, I would have missed out on a LOT of great opportunities over the years.We bought a house in Jones Valley in 2017 with negative cash flow - why? 

The answer to this will come down to comfort level, funds available, and strategy you are looking to implement. 

This gives much better diversification protection across geographies, asset types, strategies, investment subclasses etc. versus putting all the eggs into one basket.The downside is that it's not for everyone, and a person has to be comfortable with turning over control to someone else.

Off market deals usually have nonrefundable deposits and a clunkier process that isn't as suited for out of state people until they have good contacts in the area to evaluate the property (mostly contractors that feel comfortable evaluating projects for you).

Once I get to a point that it is making enough per month that I feel comfortable taking money out of the business that would be when I get to the point that it is worth have a specialist assist me in all deductions, credits, and future items that will help me to transfer from a W2 to working for myself fully.

You have to walk home, and feel comfortable.

Of course, there's no perfect right or wrong answer, it will be different for all but make sure you do what is comfortable for you and what fits your goals. 

This gives much better diversification protection across geographies, asset types, strategies, investment subclasses etc. versus putting all the eggs into one basket.The downside is that it's not for everyone, and a person has to be comfortable with turning over control to someone else.