I'm getting extremely tired of living at home and opting out of college, while I don't regret it in the slightest, has made me that much more stir crazy.

(From the release of updates to Virginia Consumer Protection Laws)Real Estate “Unlawful practice: Makes the unlawful and unlicensed practice of contracting, real estate brokering, or real estate sales, in connection with a consumer transaction, unlawful under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.”

https://rappnews.com/2019/06/30/now-its-the-law-in-virginia/Unlawful practice: Makes the unlawful and unlicensed practice of contracting, real estate brokering, or real estate sales, in connection with a consumer transaction, unlawful under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.

I used to own homes but when I moved to the new area, I opted to rent since I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay around.. now regretting I didn't just buy.Small familyA decent career - ~$200K yr, great credit (800s)Not much saved (thanks to a surgery that drained a ton of my savings) will recover over time - ~$40K ready for down payment into a property- which is needed since I'm renting a home, need to get something anywayAbout $40K in debt - a little on a card, mostly a truck payment - low interestDallas, TX area- thinking the north area- which is a hotter market, higher cost than I am used to, high property taxesGuessing my budget would be about $350K max to start for a property.Curious what would you do to get started in my scenario?

I'll stick to commenting on self-management - in my view, the most time-consuming part is making sure the cabin is set up/you are familiar with it so you can speak knowledgeably about it to guests.  

I haven't had cards or consumer debt of any kind (just mortgages) in years and my score is very high. 

Hey @Eric Brenneman - While it doesn't scare me, it definitely consumes me in the beginning.Part of what I do for my own clients is help them analyze other markets to invest in that might be more appropriate for their goals and risk levels. 

However, my ultimate goal is to build a portfolio of rental properties (buy and hold) for building generational wealth so that in 10 years, I can sit back and watch my legacy grow.Background/Real Estate Journey:My employment history includes working at Fannie Mae (the secondary mortgage market giant) for nearly 20 years (1987- 2006) as an administrative assistant, a call center representative in the Consumer Resource Center, and lastly as the technology manager in the call center.

Advantage of Opt 2 is that the $40,000 is invested in a property with 7.5% cap rate instead of 2.3% money market.

@Dave Neeley It sounds like you bought a OPT.