I'm a Graphic Designer/Illustrator that is looking to become a full-time real estate investor.

To borrow a well used illustration...when you fly on a passenger plane you are part of a syndication...which basically means people pooling their resources to purchase something they could never afford on their own.

My loan cost illustration has it listed as "Loan Discount Fee".

Their could be all types of scenarios where you don't refinance or don't sell, but all things being even and assuming we are making decisions based on the right market scenario, you've illustrated the power of using the 30-yr. mortgage to its full advantage.I don't use 20% down because of the points charged by GSE to reduce the 25% down to 20%.  

The example below shows 7 units that rented pretty quickly, and 3 units that are down for renovations, just to illustrate how this can affect the average DOM:

Becoming an LP makes me open to a very vast array of real estate investments that are available.Perhaps, as an illustration, I would say becoming an LP makes me become a true smart investor.

If you aren't illustrating how you are solving their problem then you are going about it the wrong way.

Many investors who seek advice in this and other forums use a simple calculator to illustrate their potential investment, then post the calculator screen shot on the forum.  

For illustration purposes, I sent him $10,000 for a tenant turnover + other miscellaneous work, and he sent me $20K for rents, net of property management fees.

Its usually easier to illustrate this visually or with specific dates as examples.