Do you need any kind of lifestyle change(s)? 

Google Rich Club Houston, Houston REIA, Lifestyles Unlimited, Right Path Realty.

The neighboring units set the market ceiling in my market and they are more than happy to sit on their price, so I wind up stealing their tenants by being just below.I would suggest deciding up front on renovating or not, 100 year old structures do not support todays lifestyles unless they have been updated, so you will pigeon hole yourself to the lower renter.

Since that time we have been selling off our SFRs in favor of multi family investing.I would encourage you to check out Lifestyles Unlimited we have been members since 2011 and I know of no better place to get around successful like minded people.  

Hi all,Been on the house hunt this year for my first property, a duplex in Austin for a house hack.Obviously it is very difficult to find a cash flowing rental in Austin proper; but, we're not really interested in moving out too far from the center of town, for lifestyle reasons.Looking at one potential property, and it looks like, factoring in net rent from one half  of the duplex, property would 'cash flow'  -$2000/mo (FHA loan, 3.5% down). 

That's the first thing we checked before buying, and in our case we're probably closer to retirement than you may be and this is an area and lifestyle we are leaning towards when that starts - now though we'll be investors in retirement from our W-2 jobs.

What I don’t understand is that not many people have the “I gotta do what I gotta do” lifestyle to make ends meet and possibly put some $ away for times like this.

It's a huge area with many different lifestyles to offer. 

It's an entire lifestyle and most people aren't even willing to do something that simple.

Finish your education, get established in a career with a couple of years of employment and use that time to live the most frugal life style possible to save up the cash needed for the necessary DP and reserves.