I’m a software engineer trying to get my foot into real estate investing.

@Raj Kothari as Dave Foster mentioned there are passive investments that qualify as real estate and can be used as replacement property.

In the past I did, but then they would eventually be too busy with other people; causing me to have to find new replacements.

Maybe through in free HVAC filter replacements for her so that you were seeing the property every 30 days.

I am an engineer working in O&G, and I love what I do, but at the end of the day, I would prefer to not have to work for a paycheck. 

one thing I see here in Oregon these days is folks are taking out sod and replacing it with clover.. its gives a nice little white flower and U can mow it like a lawn and well my neighbor just put one in and now I want one LOL..  

Refinance: your whopping budget of capex and repairs of $15 per month will let you replace a $6000 roof in 400 months with no other expenses in the next 33 years.

That being said, I changed my strategy over the years and replaced those types of buildings with better properties.

He orders that I get a structural engineering report done.  1500$ later the engineer thinks it’s fine, but in his report it recommended that  the beam could be replaced because the paint was cracking.  

That's crazy mang.Now, local businesses are being replaced by health bars, coffee shops, breweries and boutique shops.