People like your squatters and the lawyers, lawmakers and courts that enable them generally only raise the costs to the business owners.

Once I've added value to the property, I have the flexibility to decide whether to sell it or refinance for a cash-out option, enabling me to repay the credit cards.I'm not a financial advisor, just simply sharing what has worked for me. 

The plan is to sell in 2021 expected sales price $575,000$2.8M on $765k in eight years enabling me to retire early.

Partnering with an experienced investor can enable a less experienced investor to take advantage of features that they otherwise would not qualify for.

@Joni Martin  I am having the same problem you are, and am frustrated by the lack of knowledge on how to best utilize my real estate assets to enable me to transition to self employment soon.

It sounds like you have plenty of money and a good credit score enabling you to purchase a turnkey rental property with tenant in place, and cashflowing, depending on where you are shopping.  

Technology has enabled communication with a remote CPA through phone calls, emails, skype etc.

In our case, my wife manages the properties, and she does it very well, which keeps me outside of that, and enables me to focus on the investment side of the equation. 

I've only bought a couple nicer properties.When I first started, I needed the cash flow to build up my reserves and enable me to purchase the next property.

But that mortgage pay down over 15-30 years is a massive wealth builder, and if you are light on leverage you are missing out on that whole side of the game.Also, leverage may enable you to buy class B properties instead of class C properties, getting you better tenants, more likely to capture more appreciation, and likely less hassles overall.So in St Louis this may looks like buying $100,000-$200,000 sfr and mfr properties in Florissant or Tower Grove, vs $50,000 in Ferguson or Dutchtown.