You need to pay off all of your bad consumer debt and save an emergency fund before you try to get started.

This will get you the best transaction price if you're buying direct from seller but it can be very costly and time consuming to set up a strong marketing campaign.Another option, see if you can find a local active investor willing to JV with you. 

Now, I could get a license and simplify things a bit but it seems expensive and time consuming, I'd rather save that for later if/when I know that REI is the right path for me.

This is why the rational consumer theory of maximizing utility in economics was debunked. 

I do this: 5% income to Roth 401k (5% company match)10% to Roth IRA20% Saving for the next down-payment(s) (real estate)10% Self Directed investments (Syndicating/Crowdfunding/dividend growth investing stocks, etc.)30% Living expenses (everyday bills) (No housing costs/ no consumer debt)5% Saving for miscellaneous expenses (things like oil changes, snow tires, etc)10% Saving for large purchases (next vehicle, vacations)5% Unallocated / Charitable givingThis works for me because I have no consumer debt or student loans, and my Emergency fund is already funded.

It will consume much time and efforts but it will be worth it.

This business and my goals consume me almost all of the time because my WHY to be successful is something bigger than me.

I had intended to be in Phoenix, but something came up; Retirement is so time consuming ... :)  With my tongue firmly planted in my cheek, what more can I learn from Robert Kiyosaki than "The mistake Rich folks make is not buying actual gold".  

Keeping and organizing the income and expenses is by far the most time consuming part of doing taxes, and even more so for a CPA who is not going to immediately know what they are looking at when you hand them a shoe box of receipts.  

I am with a few others in that it sounds somewhat knee-jerk to me in response to an unhappy level of debt, consumer and otherwise.4.