This can seriously screw you over because if you buy a property wrong it is very hard to overcome that.

Everyone has different obstacles so how to spend your time should be specific to what you need to overcome. highest ROI time investments would be education, active local and digital networking weekly (if not daily), learning to raise money, and content creation. write out a strategy, and then determine what is in your way from accomplishing that.

@Gus Tsesmeloglou I’m in the same situation now - how did you overcome the challenge??

How did you overcome his hurdle?

Having a relationship with a contractor is the biggest hurdle to overcome.

I'll try and overcome my cultural reticence and put in a low-ball offer.

And leverage can be overcome with positive cashflow.

Don't stop because of these challenges... figure out how to overcome them.For example, what if you:1 - Rented the unit to a master tenant and gave them an incentive to rent rooms for you.

Without outside investors (rare) how does one overcome debt to income ratios without paying in full for a properties?

As long as the asset you are purchasing overcomes the costs associated with refinancing your home the investment in a rental property is a great idea.