I've been to countless workshops, bootcamps, and 3-day intensives.

The ultimate "end" goal for us is to create the financial freedom by our early 40's (about 15 years) to allow us to spend extended summer vacations with our east and west coast families.I am a bit of an Excel geek, and have spent countless hours analyzing both multifamily and vacation rental deals using a modified version of J.

I have read countless books and my goal which assists with my pasion is to be free or nearly free and be able to quit working an outside job someday.

I am ready to jump fully into the real estate investing game. Real

It is my understanding that Lehman's failure will expose a countless number of these smaller institutions.

I have wholesaled countless properties through their messaging featuring and discussion board.

As @Will Barnard stated many of these guys have wasted countless hours over the past several years on deals that never closed.There are a lot of retail jobs out there right now and i'd guess that 3-4 retail jobs are about as profitable as 8 investors flips.

Return on investment is lower.I've appraised countless rental property in BH / PO.Rental property in this area is a store of value.

There are countless properties (likely out of market) that cost less than that, so that alone speaks to why the number doesn't make sense.Beyond that, you can invest using techniques like partnering where you come in with little to no cash of your own.  

Within those 8 years, I have studied real estate on the side; books, podcasts, coffee with real estate agents/investors, lunch with hard-money lenders, and countless BP YouTube videos.