Still trying to figure that one out :-)This point was really crystalized last year in a thread.. nice young couple in I think Slidel LA  .. they went on and on how they were getting leads but had not closed any deals because sellers would not come down. but they got their good friend the real estate broker a half a dozen listings.. so I am thinking man you spend all this money to get these leads then hand them to a broker.. and we all know brokers by law cant pay non licensed individuals referral fees.. 

I mainly was needing help deciding on whether to start a fund or raise equity on a deal by deal basis and where to start raising funds (HNW individuals, RIA/placement agent, Family offices, PE, Institutions) Below are my summary notes.

I started in Milwaukee after my company has reloacted me here from Austria and I was looking for an alternative to Wallstreet and 401k - so it was not my choice and at the time (fresh of the boat) I would have preferred a more exciting city like NY or LA.

I'd want to check your math (because ROI of 14% seems high on student loan payoff), but I'd take 14% guaranteed ROI all day long.I think we'll see other opinions, though, as there is a 'personal preference' element to the question of reducing debt VS investing.Best of Luck with Your Real Estate Investing!

In fact one of our preferred factories has shipped to HI. 

You can do it both ways, but I prefer to just make monthly payments.

About half of it consists of four individual buildings that are leased to various retail tenants.

I always suggest young individuals who want to get into it , have to live in the city, and only have the cap to put 3-5% down, to buy a condo or even better single family house and rent out the rooms to friends or even potentially AirBnB, if you have the single family house.  

It is a very serious mistake to allow personal feelings to dictate your business practices however in your present situation you are clearly preferring to operating as a hobby investor.

Seller owes 300k on the property and would prefer an all cash deal if it lets him walk away with 150k.