I am considering entering into the investment world but I see that New York real estate properties may be too "rich for my blood" at this time.

You can try to go to court for a judgement on the damages but even if you get it you can't get blood out of a turnip.

I've ramped up efforts to buy more lots, but it's blood sport to get the right dirt, at the right place, at the right price. 

The media will over-hype absolutely ANYTHING if it gets them more views, because that's their life blood. 

for growing a portfolio.My speculation is that by using the #BRRRR strategy you can grow exponentially rather than linearly (the stack - sort of) by taking the equity and using it to reinvest.A question I have is, wouldn't all the leverage of debt create a thinner margin for cash flow?

When deals are getting thinner and thinner they shift to selling information.I am just talking in generalities and not any specific company.

Keep in mind that a "eye for design" is good but not as critical as other qualities such as "smelling blood" (recognize a deal when it appears) - and even more important, to think on how to make it happen at the right cost (construction costs can differ dramatically, when you take non-local labor and know how to get the materials on cheap etc).

sell your car, watch, cell phone and blood. 

It’s not worth your time and energy to try to get blood out of a turnip.

It took about 1 year from start to finish, but the rewarding feeling I got after all of the literal blood, sweat, and tears of 1 year of very hard work, was worth it all.