The DSTs also work as backups to your 'property by the lake' in the event that for some reason falls out of escrow and you can't close on that dream property. 

Welcome again and I hope you accomplish all of your dreams in real estate, and life.Best,Dmitriy

Eventually my dream would be to get away from the service based construction industry that I find extremely stressful at times, trying to meet the demands of 15-20 ongoing large scale install projects at a time.

Rather than telling people our dreams, we show them.  

I have been dreaming of quitting my day job for years and getting into the flipping/rehab investment property business.

Learning is always key and so is surrounding yourself with the right people.Life is good.Seeking to build a passive income so that I can quit my job etc.I have a mom and 2 brothers who are ALL interested in getting real estate going as well so we can all quit our jobs and pursue our dreams of starting non profits, writing books, traveling the world, etc.The BEST IS YET TO COME!

My wife's dream is a 250K/300K SFH in the south burbs.

Steps i "can" take towards my dream.

Is there anything I should know before pursuing my Real Estate Investing dream?

Both 4 plexes for sale in town now are asking (I know, they may not get it, but fun to dream), 600K  and I got in for about 60% of that amount and have paid down about 1/2 the mortgage.So you get the idea...