The cost to get the first loan I guess is $5000 which is hard earned money.

This means fewer agents will sell enough to earn a living and a lot of these agents will go back to W2 jobs in the next 1-2 years. 

I am reluctant to buy just for ourselves....I would hate to be house broke and I'm inspired by the stories of everyone here that can use real estate to protect assets and earn more revenue -- I want a house that will work for us in other words. 

My wife and I both work and earn apprx $160k gross HOWEVER, our credit is less than stellar.   

Storage units and multifamily properties are two of the most common types of commercial real estate, and both offer the opportunity for investors to earn returns that are significantly higher than those from single family homes.

Someone like you should be at 100 doors in 3 years tops and that 3.5 should be earning over 10% return through SFR.  

It will be the easiest money you earned as you will really not be doing much LOL. 

But far less work than it took to earn the money you will be investing with people you barely know.

After five years you'll have earned $90,000 in rent income and gained $34,000 in appreciation.Buy four houses with $50,000 down on each.

Think of it as a savings account that earns 4-6% interest.