I am invested in a small multi family in TX and the management was not able to fill the property and do repairs and the income has dwindled badly.

You might have to give up some income from the rentals but it gets you ownership of the park and time to fund long term financing.  

I live in a lower-income area, so I figure that the better tenants you will get with a safe house, the ongoing safety the tenants feel, and the lowered risk of a break-in (when occupied or vacant getting ready to lease), and reduced headaches/vacancy/potential damage are worth the marginal up-front cost of having it installed.

Depending on your debt to income, you might have to sell or have an executed lease to secure financing to buy the second home.

@Karim, I’ve been adding some properties/rental income on my Excel to see which locations would give a descent return.JLT gives good ROI, Marina does not.

These are often people making 600k to millions a year or higher in income but live 100k to maybe 200k lifestyles and invest the rest.4.

REPS does not relate to STR's.For short-term rentals (STRs) with an average rental period of seven days or less, you don’t need REP status to offset losses against other income.

How much income you'd want from the rentals and when you want that income to happen by. 

After years of focusing on my career and building financial stability, I’m ready to dive into real estate investing and start creating passive income and long-term wealth.My short-term goal is to purchase my first duplex or single family rental. 

Leverage your construction skills for flips, start with smaller projects to minimize risk, and consider house hacking or long-term rentals for a steady income.