It is my dream to own property in Pittsburgh someday.

That sounds like a investors dream Jay...I bet those home in Charleston were pretty run down so good strategy to just give em away to make way for new construction. there are some dealer and auction sites that i looked into that have them for very cheap and most are out on the east coast and south east to be exact. free to 1k sounds good, then i can do minor touch up work and get them ready for a tenant buyer. 

Reality is that with 5 kids your financial position and her dreams will not be achieved if she does not have the for site to realise status quo is never going to work.You need more income going forward simply to maintain your present life style.

You can argue about grit and moral fiber and self-worth all day long and why some people are really special and able to overcome personal difficulties because they're made of The Right Stuff, but poverty and abuse cripple people in many ways.When you're landlording low-income property, it becomes very clear to you that the American dream devolves into a nightmare for many people at some point.

That surprisingly is exactly what I dream of at night. 

One of the biggest was not following my dream. 

It is your money, your dreams and goals.

I’m a true blue capitalist but even I cringe at some of the stories I have heard about where working poor people just want to have a small part of the American dream they see others have and get into trouble .

That plain and simple is not investing it is pie in the sky dreaming.

Found my next dream house!