And while the Fed is trying to suck money out of the system, progress is slow, and when money supply grows faster than GDP the value of the currency has to adjust.  

Then, products such as HELOC or 1031 exchange are not open to me as a foreigner so even though i have on paper $500k in equity I don't have a real way of tapping into it.Any ideas or suggestions what I can do now to keep growing would be much appreciated!

I’d like to buy vacant lots, tear-downs or single family properties with enough lot to print ADUs and do a mixture of rent, sell and owner finance the end product depending on the situation.

Sometimes my Dad tells me that I need to slow down, maybe I should take his advice.

So some of the strategies others have expressed here have their advantages, but they do slow down your ability to grow.

We haven't had success buying a place to have as a STR yet, but when we do I'm going to try to make sure that only fragrance free products are used.

If you were looking to hold, you MIGHT be able to pull off something closer to those numbers but you'll see slow appreciation and most likely be in a C-class area, which means more pro-active management. 

>the reason I am not in favor of semi passive RE investing...I've also slowed down my buying activity a lot over the past couple years.

We were after a very specific product within a tight radius, so we were able to mail almost all the houses that met our criteria without breaking the bank.

Constantly tracking your progress will help you stay motivated, focused, productive and accomplished as you check off each step.Look for Learning Opportunities - You will need to be continuously building your knowledge and skills and seeking out learning opportunities in order to stay competitive and advance in your career.