This journey that we're all on can be lonely, especially when it comes to balancing W2 jobs, kiddos and real estate investing. 

Use your W-2 income to qualify for multiple loans now, stack a few properties before quitting your job, and consider BRRRR or DSCR loans later to scale.

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

I do not flip so I understand your reluctance to want to flip (it’s a job, taxes, selling costs, etc), but it seems like a much better flip than brrrr.  

while I totally understand the frustration especially purchasing what was supposed to be a new and ready to go asset, but these things are pretty common so don't feel to discouraged. 

A lot of investors provide comps (residential RE) but I avoid doing it because it's like telling them how to do there job.

Stable job for 20+ years.

The cleanout is about 10-15 feet from the curb, but they had to snake 70 feet, suggesting a potential city sewer issue.The plumber mentioned that if I report this to the city, they will likely request a secondary cleanout closer to the curb, which I would have to install at my expense (a costly job).

President Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, testified that extending the ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’ of 2017 is essential to avoiding economic catastrophe.

But since I am in the fire area of Altadena I will be very busy rebuilding houses for the next decade for me "day job".