Obviously our marriage and our joint happiness is so much more important than becoming financially free a couple years earlier.

Currently, I jointly own a property with my dad.

Start building your network meanwhile by Meetups for Real Estate and also  Facebook Groups for Real Estate in your areaMaybe you can get into a Joint Venture with some one and that can escalate the time to buy  a property

I file jointly and we are able to put enough of our income into a retirement plan that we can be below 89,000 in income (including rental income).

I was looking at the TCU and Joint Force base area.

Have you come across a landlord / rent collection platform that does not charge fees to ACH your bank of choice?

Try a private lender  and a Joint Venture

@Tony Payper If you are open  to Joint Ventures and also equity partners, you will have more options:)

Each partner determines their own RE professional status if not married and MFJ (Married Filing Joint).

I am curious if classifying my spouse as a real estate professional can offset ordinary income when filing jointly.