Either way, you should be finding people who are succeeding in real estate and figure out any way you can learn from them.Be patient, work hard, stay in this community and do what you can to learn from other people's experience.

My advise in short is to build your REI skills and portfolio while maintaining the safety net of the dentistry.My story is around working in high tech, great income but getting burned out.

Should I actively seek to find a property I can "afford" now and house hack it considering I'm paying $800/mo in rent to someone else, or should I just be patient and finish my studies and then jump in with a steady income stream?

But that money has been such a huge safety net for us!

Hazel Park is hot right now - You have a much higher chance of appreciation, better tenant base, lower taxes, better city services, lower insurance rates and over all better safety.

The MLS is tough right now... be patient and stick to your goals.

And most of all, be patient!

At the advice of the agent and the inspector, I reduced my list down to the true Must-Haves - things involving safety, for the most part.

I've been looking for multi-family properties in MO and there are no deals on commercial multi-family (there are seriously $650,000 multi-family properties for sale bringing in a paltry $4000 a month in rent - no, thanks) so I'll be patient.

For off-market, you have as long as the seller is patient.