My goals are to provide financial freedom for my future family and establish a sustainable safety net if physical limitations prevent me from retiring from my current W-2s.

For the better part of two decades I've been involved in real estate in some capacity including but not limited to: mortgage & real estate broker, developer, project manager, STR owner/operator/manager, international investor and beyond. 

They are more or less the same thing but the key difference is the leverage and exposure limits.

As mentioned banks have very strict underwriting requirements and will finance but they have limits to what they will finance.

Growing My Cash Buyers List: Initially, I relied heavily on a small group of cash buyers, which limited my profits and left me with tougher deals to sell.

.- Shadowing another investor in my area- looking for openings in real estate management companies, or offering my helpOr..I could take my facilities job for the time being and save for an investment further down the roadI want to begin my investing as soon as I can but feel the opportunities that are available to me are a little limited due to my lack of experience and cash. 

To avoid buyer limitations, wait for the 90-day period or consider the market.

I'm not sure about the user limit. 

And that gave us a feeling of security that allowed us to take "riskier" bets.

You bet.