Dillon, just to reinforce what a couple others have already said, look into a duplex, triplex, etc instead of the townhome.It will give you instant experience in real estate investing and the rental units hopefully offset or reduce your out of pocket mortgage expense.

What is the point of reinforcing all the reasons why you can't do something?  

Moody's just recognized the seriousness of Illinois' population loss and how that trend could result in a Detroit death spiral.Moody's just recognized that a "self-reinforcing cycle of population loss and economic stagnation" in Illinois (and Chicago) could lead to a Detroit death spiral.http://capitolfax.com/2017/01/05/moodys-frets-over...https://rebootillinois.com/2017/01/06/only-in-illi...From Moody's: "Population loss can be a cause, as well as an effect, of economic deterioration.

Everyone has rocks in their backpack.I find this article relieving because it reinforces the real secret to getting ahead: Work for what you want.

Pour 20 sq ft of reinforced concrete 6” thick with rebar. 3.

It's good to have reinforcement of my initial ideas to know I'm going in the right direction.

While the article doesn't provide specific data from a large sample, rather very isolated examples, it still reinforces the need to ensure a non-emotional decision is always made based on the numbers.Thanks all.

@Ammon Brimhall thanks for your advice, I'm no special case in that I'm new to the field with such a vast amount of information out there it can get cloudy, so your words do help reinforce my feeling. 

I prefer quality over quantity, and while I practiced this before anyone had told me to network in this way, my theory was reinforced by some heavyweights in the multifamily real estate industry.

Also, reinforcing the strict deadline may help provide them with some sense of accountability to improve moving forward.