Since this opportunity came up, I've begun to take real estate more seriously as a path to financial freedom.

With the equity you’ve built and the cash you have, you could also explore a HELOC or refinancing to open up more opportunities.

You need to up your standards or life as a Landlord will be very difficult.One violation and I would evict.

Hi Everyone,
I’m Brian, and I’m excited to join this community! After spending 25 years as a Software Engineering and Product leader, I’m now exploring the world of real estate investing (REI) and looking forward to ...

This simply means you have language in your lease that states the landlord is responsible for paying utilities up to a certain $ amount (let's say $100 for the sake of argument).

@Jerry Chilimidos,Ned is correct, if you end up refinancing your rentals in the IRA - your IRA will be subject to UBIT tax on leveraged portion of the income so be sure to run the numbers with you CPA to understand the tax implications. 

I haven't had a full-time employment for a while but I have money saved up to buy a property or two.Is anyone here living abroad also or know anyone living abroad that is not physically buying properties in the USA but abroad?

The faster you pick it up, the faster money will roll in.

it was renovated from the studs up in 2019!

I had an electrician run wires in an attic, telling me up front that the house won't be up to codes, he's only doing the one or two things I asked.