@Ibrahim S - that made me laugh way too much :)As for being a "respectable" profession, I see it just as respectable as day trading.

One of you get a GC license and then hire out the individual trades.  

It looks like overall the cap rate on average is trading at a 6.8% cap rate.

Also, as emphasized in a recent version of "This Old House" fewer people are going into the trades.

You may find yourself in a situation with the Seller re-trading the deal....

I think if you're ok with living in a multi, you could sell your home and swing for the fences and go for the biggest multi, that produces, as you can. 

But for my price range, the only multi families I can swing would be in the Bronx, maybe some areas of Queens and BK.

When you do sub those out, though, be your own GC ... watch the trades do their work, ask lots of questions, and learn from them.

OH my yes... there are so many worthless properties in the US it will make your head swing I would venture to guess in the magnitude of about 10 MILLION parcels probably more.

If I'm planning on profiting as much as possible on these properties and then sell them to trade up anyway, wouldn't it be better to do a 30 year for the lower monthly expenses even though it may kind of tank my equity when it comes time to trade up?