My dream would be to have enough rental properties to support myself while I pursue a doctorate degree 5-8 years from now. 

I admit I have this thing for it: 1000' to a great beach, my dream retirement home, a super long term tenant, a super appreciation.   

It's OK to dream but get some legs under you first.

Is saving money on taxes just a pipe dream?

They have to because it's all about the bottom line when you're doing it as a business, instead of building your dream home where money becomes almost irrelevant at times as long as you get all the cool stuff you want. 

One of the biggest REI dream killers is an unexpected expense (vacancy, repair or both) that wipes out your available cash.

Just needed some love.We gutted the entirety of the upstairs bathroom and kitchen.Drywall repairs where needed and paint all over.Sanded and refinished the hardwood.Laid vinyl flooring where needed (kitchen, bathroom, one of the bedrooms).Added a few windows & a new garage door.Just to name a few things.This project is what dreams are made of; 40k profit in the span of 4 months (project start to house sale).

-Is there any advice on a better way to use the equity in my home or the land to start my real estate investing dream?

Running a hostel, or an STR for travelers and big groups in Austin that was affordable was a dream for us as experienced travlers.

In a dream world, I would love to have them move into one of our rentals so they wouldn't have to worry about upkeep, maintenance or repairs.