If you plan to relocate to other areas of the country in short term, it may be better idea to rent and downsize to save money. 

Been reading numerous personal finance books and lurking BP for a few months now, but the savings are finally shaping up, so I've decided to take it more seriously :) I'm a recent college grad from the bay area who's been in industry for about 1-2 years now and I'm really interested in setting up a positive, reliable cashflow for myself to reach financial independence.

@Paolo F.I understand trying to save money by avoiding tax professionals, but this discussion should have illustrated why it might backfire.1.

I'm interested in acquiring new buildings in central NJ and maybe we can do something that would save you the trouble of hiring someone.

You can delegate that role to your agent but if he is incorrect your life savings is at stake. 

I know with rental properties, one of the main goals is the build long term equity in that home with some extra net cash flow after all expenses and savings.

Find a CPA that invests in properties to learn how they can help save you $$$. 

I've used Xero before and it saves a ton of time having direct bank-feeds over manual uploads. 

I'm saving up now for the next one, so either way I'll get it done- just curious if there's more meat on the bone for me here.

I have 4k saved currently and plan to continue to saving over the course of the next year.