I’m also from Grand Rapid, MI 🥶

If you're spending half on your mortgage, it's too much, but I digress - even at that, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to sock away at least a grand a month.

This house could have been a grand slam for me (keeping faith that it still might be).  

That's the "point of diminishing returns" there: once you pass 5 or 6 hundred grand price point, it becomes more lucrative and smarter to buy two small multi-unit properties (like two duplexes for $300k each as opposed to one big fourplex for $600k).

I was able to do a house-hack before I really knew anything about REI and can't wait to put together my first deal with REI in mind (vs buying a place since rents were so close to mortgage rates).Specifically I'd love to work on finding and putting together a BRRR, flip, or LTR in the Western Slope (Grand Junction, Montrose, Ridgeway, Fruita?)

Just to get an excavator on sight cost me ten grand and another 8k to repair and sleeve the affected pipe to the road.

Mostly in Mesa, Apache Junction, San Tan Valley, Florence, Coolidge, and Casa Grande.

I’ve considered buying rentals in casa grande because the prospect that phoenixmart May bring in thousands of jobs.

They were invented and are relevant in paces were houses are $50 grand.  

I have felt lucky about many things like my wife helping me and her saving money for about 25 years and we only owe about 28 grand on our house on a home improvement loan that was used to pay off our mortgage about 20 years ago right before our daughter was born who just finished her 3rd year at the University of Arkansas and i am very proud of her.