We use my husband's VA loan to purchase a triplex in Long Beach, CA to "house hack" and that's been a fantastic first venture into our first investment property. 

I need to get a down payment because I am selling at the top of the market, so the down payment will be taxable as well. 

Similarly I see some CRE lenders throwing money around again topped by dried up inventory and too many new, overpriced A-class developments going up just to create the perfect storm all over again - this time in the CRE space.

It was named in the Top 10 metros for future job growth by Forbes magazine and I'm told that Ocala is the only city in Florida to have made the list five years in a row.

Then on top of that they charge a 7% Commission (that would equate to additional $26,250).

The area has gentrified a bit more and now resurfaced counter tops are not enough to compete anymore as their competitors are getting granite.

To top it off, I don't even know if there's any cumulative or recurring fees on this.  

The only problem is I don't have that much to get started with right now and I live in NJ...On top of that, I'm also saving for a new car within the next 2 years (will just buy something reliable and used to save as much $$$ as possible...mine has 187K miles on it right now), a wedding within the next 5, and I have my monthly student loan payment...so how am I supposed to save enough to still have enough for at least a 20-25% minimum down payment plus reserves for rehab.

Also, setting up keywords (by clicking the little bell on the top right corner) will help you stay informed on all the topics you're interested in.Best of luck to you and your husband!

I know real estate makes a lot of millionaires, but it seems like investing in businesses and/or starting successful businesses and either keeping them or selling them makes more billionaires than real estate (based solely on billionaires I can think of off the top of my head right now).