And I agree that the police are pretty lazy.

I think finding property is pretty easy compared to managing.

Charles P has some pretty good points.

In the current market, it's pretty much impossible to have any positive cash flow in the 2-4 unit space with long term rentals, unless you're putting ~40-50% down, not only focused on the cash flow per se, but rather simply not being in the negative.

If there's a family member or friend in a similar situation, and you can both align on the initial plan (location, home type, price, usage/occupancy, etc) you can pretty easily get a co-ownership agreement in place and even a joint mortgage.The benefit here is it might open up your ability to buy a larger place in a nicer area which could lead to a faster rate of appreciation and overall better living environment. 

Probably not, but I'd see what my CPA and attorneys have to say.Be a pain having tenants pay you twice too.Also, passive income is already treated pretty favorably after deductions such as depreciation.

When i look back it's pretty easy to see what let us achieve this milestone. 1) Delayed gratification.

They each have different stories about what is going on that are pretty different - how do I find out what is really going on in order to make this decision?

and if they were bought in all cash, they should be cash flowing pretty well... are they?!

My street is pretty peaceful, lots of families.