I will be putting about 10K as a downpayment and want to grow a real estate empire.

Debt is the undefeated champion over all empires and it's what causes financial ruin over a long period of time. 

Here is an excerpt:By Randyl DrummerCoStar NewsNovember 23, 2020 | 4:10 P.M.Real estate investment firm Inland Real Estate Group paid about $83 million for a residential community near Phoenix, which has set the pace for an increase in popularity across the country of single-family home rentals.Christopher Todd Communities, which specializes in the development of so-called build-to-rent single-family homes, sold its 313-home Christopher Todd Communities at Stadium to Inland for $82.9 million, or $265,000 per unit, according to public sale and loan documents.The single-story homes in the At Stadium community, located at 9999 W.

However, even if my real estate "empire" grows fantastically, I will be super cautious about giving up a steady paycheck, some minimal sick leave, and that crucial medical insurance before I reach Medicare and pension age. 

Almost any brokerage is a bad investment, except BRK, because the real estate parts the tiniest part of their empire.

She did property management as part of her job and I was in land development, so we had a lot of connections and personal experience. 

Finally I am ready to get my loan to build my empire.

@Lisa Gauff a lot people abandon California in search of "better returns" but for SFR especially, Arizona and Nevada aren't that different from the less expensive places in California like the Central Valley and Inland Empire. 

The way you are going, I hope to read another post when you've finally reached that goal and decide to retire (or not, and continue to scale your empire).It was a huge advantage to start your journey while still young.

I am going on year 3 of working full-time as a design engineer working in land development.