HOUSE HACKING: I think someone had already mentioned this; however, this bit requires sacrifice: are you ok with moving from your current house and now living in a multifamily house with other tenants?

Sleep is something I refuse to sacrifice.  

By doing your own property management, you are only improving the return on properties you own, at the sacrifice of additional properties.  

I made the sacrifices of not spending any time with friend, going on vacation, and only spending my money on necessities. 

Sometimes you have to sacrifice and trade time for money.

Of course I know that that took a major amount of work and sacrifice.

You sometimes make sacrifices for the things you love, and you are willing to work harder for the things you really want.

But if you're flexible and serious about your REI career, those aren't huge sacrifices to make in the short term.  

I stay home with our kids, but we have had to make some sacrifices to make that happen.

As you move to the north and south of Denver, cash flow can become a larger component of your return while you sacrifice a small bit of the appreciation gain but still have a solid overall return.If your goals are entirely based around cash flow, you will probably find that there are other markets outside of Colorado that will offer you a better cash return but you will add some uncertainty of managing those properties from a distance.