And when you make a wide blanket statement like "My current income level really doesn't allow me to save much of anything," I think we can also safely assume that you also have a car payment, of, say, $500/month.

I have used 401k loans as a down payment for a house, as cash to purchase a double wide, and for rehab money for my different purchases.

I’m just jumping in to the mobile home angle.

I've taken several 1031 classes, he taught the best one, he had several creative angles that I had never heard of.  

What I'm running into is all of the calculators out there I've seen vary widely and I don't want to bug my lenders every time I get a lead.

Solo enables you to learn all aspects and keep more of your earnings, but it will also require you to be 100% responsible for every aspect and probably see slower growth.It's a pretty wide-open question and difficult to answer without knowing you, your skill set, your resources, and your goals.

@Aaron Bruns, varies widely depending on the market.

What is his angle; is he really in the business to help others achieve financial freedom through real estate investing?

Being a good GC takes a wide range of experience in different trades.

It seems that San Francisco sits at $330 and Los angles sits at $500.