People kill their baby money soldiers too soon, and they kill them by spending them on luxuries, like you describe.To me, it comes down to mindsets, the poor, the middle class and the wealthy mindset.

This is a wealthy retirement community where 80% of owners hardly blink at the special assesment.

A very wealthy customer of mine was very good in the stock market .

That's how long-term wealth is created. 

collect payments from mostly wealthy renters.  

It was for the wealthy, now its the middle class in many instances.

Yes, sure, people have wealthy friends/family or a wealthy coworker that likes to be the bank. 

I fell in love with helping new investors create their legacy and wealth. I

If the goal is long term wealth, I would advise taking advantage of house hacking and building up until you max out your loans.

One owner is a wealthy casino owner who collects land and may consider selling but for way more than its worth.