Not owning my residence means somebody else has to worry about all of that stuff for me and I can focus on my income producing properties, building my business, sourcing deals, traveling - you name it.Even though you "own" your home now, you are still paying rent.

I am a former business owner, current world traveler with my wife and returning to Seattle in Januaryish.

Apparently the investor went and moved on something else and now he wants to do a fix and flip deal and wants to close on a subject by the end of the month. we'll see what happens. at least now I'm not needed to waste time or money on travel, and he's in my neck of woods where he wants to purchase the properties, but eventually the cards are going to have to be out on the table, and when they do I'm going to expose this piece of work to the world.

Cash flowing properties in the bay area are nearly impossible to come buy unless you bought at the bottom of the market or you're using one of your units as a meth lab.I live over in SJ and I travel up to Sacramento to look for cash flowing duplexes.IMO: Condos are not worth the hassle of dealing with HOA politics and dues.

We are considering purchasing 2-3 similar properties this year, but are also open to other strategies/ opportunities.Our goal is to try and earn $5,000 per month in relatively passive income by 2019, which we would then use to fund our travels around the world.

I had been saving up money to take a leave of absence from my job and do some long term travelling.

Of course if the properties are located in places you want to visit making them work/play trips is great.Personally I get all the business travel I 'need' during the market research, due diligence and acquisition phases.

I find it odd that with all the analysis people put into these deals they never include their travel expenses as an operating cost...

I am willing to pay reasonable travel expense.

I'm actually traveling out there next week to meet with several folks and dig into more details.Good luck on your research and learning.