The other thing to consider is that agency debt on loans over 1 million dollars is actually more attractive as far as interest rate/terms than a lot of conventional financing.

Get rid of debt, build a budget, and save.

A thought struck me, I am not entirely sure of the difference between a bad & good investment in a debt deal. 

Time, rate of return and dollar amount invested/debt pay down is what makes one a millionaire. just run the numbers in a financial calculator or spreadsheet. 

When we took possession of the houses, each time our taxes tripled because we weren't over 65. 

@Aariff Kadar and @Jeremiah Pangan there are great opportunities to invest in Los Angeles and for those who have to live here it's well worth it to live in a multi unit property.While it is not very likely to cash flow you will still many benefits such as; debt pay down, paying less than what you pay in rent and appreciation.If you are wanting cash flow then I recommend investing out of state but if you are going to live here and want to buy here it will be for appreciation.Let me know if I can assist with anything.

I am definitely doing some of my numbers to see where we stand financially and see where we could improve. ( credit card debt, school loans, etc. ) how long after u decided to REI did u you purchase your first home?

@Sonny Sach A good metric to pay attention to along with the IRR would be the Debt service coverage ratio and CoC returns especially if you’re leveraging equity with debt.

Without my knowledge, he was taking the draws to pay himself and not debts he created with this project.

If you've got debt dragging you down, take care of it to at least a comfortable/manageable level.