In addition lower rents will decrease the value of a property, not necessarily its appraised value, because no buyer will desire to pay retail for properties with reduced cash flow.

Either way, you are taking the RIGHT steps, you have the desire; that’s obvious.  

My interest in real estate came from a desire to have stability and time/financial freedom.

There are several different types of income in the US tax code.Two main types are “active income” and “passive income".Active income is money you earn from working, such as wages from a W-2 job or income from running a business.Passive income is money you earn from investments like real estate, stocks, or rental income from your RE portfolio where you earn $ without actively working.Normally, you can't use passive losses (like losses from real estate investments) to offset active income like your salary from a W-2 job.That is unless you are an RE Pro.The reality is, that Real Estate Pro status is just a filing status similar to filing married or jointly.And if you are a real estate professional you CAN use passive real estate losses to offset active income from other sources.To qualify as an RE Pro you must:1.

If you’re looking to make real estate your new job and to earn cash now to use and live on like a job, then go for cash flow.

No off-street parking = not worth doing MTR unless it meets all of the following: super urban area where no parking is the norm, highly desirable area with a ton of MTR demand, super safe part of the city, and has great public transportation (think NYC, Hoboken NJ, etc.)Unless it meets all of the criteria above, I pass on those opportunities because my MTR will be eliminating the many people that travel with their vehicles.

Many newcomers spend their first few years working under a sponsoring broker, and during that period, the broker often earns a significant portion of the revenue.

Dont spend your hard earned money that should be going to buy assets for a class..

Wow, take a breath, based on what you wrote here you've earned it. 

I turned to the Diontalk Binder strategy which educates the tenants on the current price of market rents, section 8, etc, and what I could potentially earn if they were to move out ( In this case being 1500 for a 3b 1ba). they then realize this and know paying a $400 increase (36.6% Increase) would be the best option vs moving out, living in cheaper housing, or going to market rent in the area.