By doing that, we can attain a Writ of Possession to have the sheriff remove all parties that may be in residence.  

Did you think that putting him down and virtually laughing at his efforts would somehow motivate him to pay your $200-$250/hr fee to attain the benefit of your great wisdom?  

Can anyone advise the best way forward to attain financial independence and begin building my own equity , without sacrificing the comfort and security that comes with living somewhere I don’t have to share or leave when someone else says so?

However, that's never the case, one must work to attain it.  

Some people get into "analysis paralysis", and never act, because there's always one more bit of "readiness" that needs to be attained.

It's not a rule, it's a metric to measure whether there is a deal that fits your strategy or not. 2% is generally attained on properties closer to the $50,000 mark, renting for $1000 a month.To be stuck to a 'rule' is silly, see the idea for what it's worth, an idea.

Craig - I think 8% with virtually no risk is realtively attainable.  

In Hawaii (where I am), the deal was you had to have three months of the mortgage reserved and the tenants would have to sign a year long lease in order for the lender to approve it, the only issue there was I don't plan on staying in Hawaii, I don't want to, and a 3 month reserve for a Hawaiian fourplex is significantly higher and less attainable haha.  

@bryce Davis, if ever i could find someone like you. building wealth is the same as having a nice body/working out at the gym. it takes hard work and discipline (hard work->at the gym and discipline--> what you eat). for me, there is no real risk when one is trying to attain an amazing body, losing money is risky. having someone who's already successful to show me the ropes, that would be ideal.

Could you attain the same degree at a lesser cost?