However, if your time is limited or you don’t want to deal with tenants directly, hiring a property manager can make your life much easier—just be sure to choose one with solid local experience.Are you currently house hacking in Chicago?

I bought my first "investment 9 years ago and I can now say that property has changed my life. 

Quote from @Paul De Luca:Personally, I'm not a fan of enabling bad tenant behavior and in life you get what you tolerate.

Not much has changed in my life, but if I now have to finance a rental property vs primary home, my options change. 

I have found ChatGPT to be particularly useful for testing new Book Covers for BiggerPockets, such as our foray into the personal fitness category with upcoming title "Sweat for Life": 

As others have said, it's all about your life situation.

Also the worst, your premium will likely triple for the rest of your life. 

A client of mine in Maryland added smart home features to their rentals and boosted rents by 12% with minimal investment.

Financial freedom is all about buying and hold properties for the rest of your life - that's how you get appreciation, cash flow, principal paydown, and depreciation.

We both run our own businesses but we feel that real estate will help make sure we both maintain our life plans of not needed to work as much any more.