They get a higher return since they are covering housing cost, have the $250k per spouse primary residence deduction in gains, is a savings account, higher leverage position, lower interest rate possible, will pay more premium for location, etc.House might be overpriced for REITs but not for home owners.  

When we moved, we turned it into a rental, hoping this would be the start of our real estate journey—something we’d like to continue once my husband retires.Some key details:My husband is active duty and will retire in 3 years.We have one final move coming up this summer to Raleigh, NC.Our current debts are crippling us—the high interest makes it tough to stay afloat every month.The plan I proposed to my husband:Sell the rental property.Use the proceeds to pay off all our debts, set aside emergency funds and a down payment for our next home.Free up $1,500/month from debt payments, and that also can stash in a high-yield savings account.Regain full VA loan entitlement, allowing us to purchase a multifamily home and use the house hacking strategy for up coming move.Avoid capital gains tax, since April marks five years of ownership, and the tenant’s lease ends in May.This wasn’t our original plan, and we hate the idea of using our equity to pay off debt.

Appraiser's learned a valuable lesson in 2008 when they were accused of being one of the causes of the great recession.

I used to cold call, skip trace, send mailers, and don't get me wrong you will get success from it like James above, however as you gain experience you will realize you need deals faster, easier, cheaper, and with more "meat on the bones" and in order to have that you need constant deals flowing through your eco system and that's hard to do with mailers, cold calls, VA's and skip tracing etc.

Can you do contracting work on properties and learn valuable skills that will help you remodel properties, flip them, or otherwise learn as much as possible about the construction trade? 

Although the study may increase the gain, the gain may be taxed at a much lower rate making it a beneficial investment.If a property is purchased with the intention to flip or own for a short period of time (less than 3 years), a cost segregation study may not be significant.Overall, as long as you intend to hold the investment property for greater than a year, the benefits of a cost segregation study should be considered.

I’m planning to start by buying in Buffalo to gain experience and learn the ropes.

The seller's LLC pays capital gains tax and depreciation recapture, while the buyer's LLC uses the purchase price as the new cost basis.

@Tori Rhodes faster ways to scale:Buy a portfolio from another investor- Get seller financing from a savvy one that doesn't want capital gains hit!

If you're prepared to acquire multiple properties at once, you can gain a competitive edge and negotiate better deals that simply aren’t available when buying individually.3.