All the best buddy and Keep the Faith  -  Mike

Of course at my age I have many retired friends .. they run the gamut one of them said once he hit 70k a month without dipping into principal he quit.. my airline pilot buddies got a few million and of course if you know airline pilots a more frugal bunch does not exist they called it a day. 

You don't have to be buddies with them, and I actually recommend you don't become too friendly with them, keep it polite and neighborly but professional.

And I guess after foreclosing on over 200 investors from 07 to 2010 that I loaned money to in these markets one does get a little leery watching the exact same people jump right back into the same kind of deals that sunk them the first time around. as for options there are many1. buy a four plex were you live if live in 1 unit rent the rest out.. this should cover your living expenses. and you can get in for 3.5% down or there about.2. if you have some cash partner with some buddies and or general contractors and flip a few homes.3.

@Jared Bandel Hey buddy, I was in your same predicament!

RichBy all means buddy, go right ahead, as I stated in the email to you, love to hear your valuable input!

@Chuck Jeffrey Hey buddy, I agree with @Derek Carroll %300.

If you're good buddies with these investors and have been for many years, you can probably get away with the group of you just forming a company and going to town.

So a college buddy knows we are investing in buy and hold properties.

I have a buddy who did this...They bought the most run down they could find, put a couple grand in them, and "rent to own" and usually got  pretty stable tenants out of them.