At the end of the day, cash flow was similar because I now had mortgage payments. 

If the US proves out to be the safest investment haven globally and sees continued capital inflows, Treasuries will likely compress / fall and investors will turn to real estate to continue to diversify.  

At the end of the day we can screen our tenants all we want, but cannot control what people do.  

This gives you control without needing a large down payment or a mortgage.🔹 Profit Multiple Ways – You can rent the property for cash flow, sell the option at a profit, or buy it later at a pre-agreed price (often below market value).🔹 Great for Sellers & Investors – Motivated sellers can turn a vacant or hard-to-sell property into income while investors secure future deals without a huge upfront commitment.🔹 Ideal in Any Market – Whether home prices are rising or falling, lease options allow you to lock in today’s price while benefiting from future appreciation.Other creative strategies—like seller financing, subject-to deals, and the BRRRR method—can also open doors, but lease options remain one of the most powerful, low-risk, minimal cash out-of-pocket ways to build a portfolio.

@JD Martin agree 10,000%What I am surprised about is I had a call with someone in Austin today and in sw Florida and they both said things are awful and prices are dropping at high rates - curious don't hear as much chatter here about that as it could be an opportunity 

It is surprisingly easy to manage out of state and if you want more tips on how, check out Bigger Pockets book "30 Day Stay" on Mid Term Rentals. 

Looking to learn anything and everything about the commercial world to hopefully one day be able to become an investor ourselves.

A little about me: i’m new to the real estate world and eager to learn everything I can to build a successful investing journey.

You don't have to buy a 4 plex in order to advance.

So for us to use a metric that looks at having to make $100K on a deal to make it worthwhile is a non-starter.