Then I feel like it’s money going to my pocket and not to other entities like mortgage company or power company.

They’re great and have about 50 employees... plenty of fire power to handle multiple jobs

Do they get a thrill thinking about the power they wielded over strangers? 

You want to crush your job so you keep getting promotions and keep making more money so you have more borrowing power.

But house hacking with a low down payment loan is a very, very powerful way to get started.

Wholesaling is a powerful tool when paired with private money.

Imagine giving me $20k and I give you $1,000/year back and in 10 years it “paid for itself”   You don’t use it for an investment  you use it to punish oil producing countries that hate us or to show your neighbors you’re better than them  :-)  Usually it’s a horrible plan for rentals because you either have to charge higher rent and include the electricity or charge a flat rate discouraging them from saving power.

Investors/Partners: Build a network of partners for joint ventures, sharing risk, and increasing buying power.5.

Yes you take a pay cut but your purchasing power increases. 

While I'm not a lawyer and I would always encourage you to speak to one I believe you can 1031 homes but I would say it's much more powerful as you scale with commercial.