Especially when tenants have an entitlement mentality and the fact they live next to you, that leaky toilet that breaks at 2am, they going to come knocking at 2.01am wanting you to fix it

I like to read those success stories which give me mental strength to move forwardAt the mean time, I could not able to invest due to my work and I am planning to start doing next year.

You seem not to have the dream home mentality anymore?

I got into REI about a year ago when my daughter was 1.

I figured I would take even the smallest of action and take my daughter to check out some open houses.  

I decided this year to reinstate my CA license after my daughter was diagnosed with a rare chronic illness. 

Everyone else needs to accumulate wealth at a faster rate than previous generations and owning a personal residence is not the appropriate vehicle for that, unless it fits within your plan.DIY RetirementStep 1: Passive income pays mortgage on personal residence (Social Security Replacement)Step 2: Passive income replaces W2 income (Pension Replacement)Step 3: Accumulate other wealth to leave to heirs (Legacy wealth)If you can get to step 2 while still being employed then you can retire at anytime.The old mentality was work until 62-65 and save 2 million for retirement, and live off of the interest of $100k per year.

I have started with that mentality but haven't seen any properties that sellers are willing to part with under worst case assumptions.

You're right in that there's a mental shift that takes place.

@Sallie LardyWelcome my daughter is a chef you have a hard job.Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere Check out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info.