I just meant to say that it's our next goal to build that up, having just gone on a spending spree on fixing up both properties in a short period of time.

Learn to control your spending and pay off debt.

I “assume” they meant you wouldn’t defer all your taxes if you used leverage on a $450k purchase instead of “spending” all your cash.

I did not want to spend 50K on doing separate meters for where I have my rentals it would cost me this much.

I'm not sure why not - one of the great parts about real estate investing is that you can build a team around you for aspects you aren't as strong at or simply want to delegate to someone/expert and do the others yourself - look up "Core 4" for example - where you can have an agent, lender, manager, contractor all at once for your investments and can theoretically just let them do all the interactive work

This could mean either spending at least 500 hours actively involved in the property or ensuring your involvement exceeds that of anyone else, such as a property manager.

I am excited to get started investing in real estate in out of state Long Term Rentals.Outside of real estate, I enjoy spending time with my kids, as well as mountain biking and other outdoor adventure activities.Excited to learn and connect with you all!

Thriving financially is one aspect; the human side keeps people engaged and loyal.Do expectations vary by property type or asset class?

If you are setting aside funds for capex, taxes, insurance, or other expenses that don't occur monthly, transfer those funds to Savings each month and hold them there until it's time to spend them.

If you know that a 2BR single family rental averages $1000/month in your market and someone tells you they have a good deal for you on one for $175k how much time are you going to spend analyzing it?