Keep earning that paycheck and saving as much as you can.Keep your credit score up then buy yourself a home, perhaps a duplex or a single that you can rent spare rooms to your buddies.Let your tenants pay your mortgage.You can get a FHA loan which will only require 3.5% down.Richard had some good advice as well if your interested in earning some additional income quickly a RE license will really open you up to more opportunities to learn and earn while also keeping your regular job.Down the road your rental income and possibly real estate agent commissions can Grant you the opportunity to walk away from the w2'd job.Good luck. 

We plan on keeping our regular DM campaign in place to frequently hit that list.  

You want to add to your regular inspections some attention to looking at the walls to mention that they are not for writing or painting on (obviously if you see this happening).  

My regular personal biz is a little slow, and my monthly nut is very high, I'm finding myself too close for comfort as far as the amount left in my bank each month, especially after April, with both property tax and my personal that was due!

It gets tight when my regular biz slows down.Bob BVenice CA

The concern with the theoretical one year (as used in your example) when we chose to join forces, one of us is going to have been more or less invested than the other in terms of costs, time, etc...no two properties are going to perform/require management identically and it will be a hassle to try to square expenses up when we aren't just operating from a joint account under our company name.  

To regular residential agents your deal looks like a whopper to them.

You need a place to live so there is a certain amount of rent that you must be able to handle as your rent so figure that into the mix and  treat your self like a regular tenant to figure the deal.  

I'm not a fan of Zillow, but if you're looking for comps they are very accurate as this is pulled from county records and the areas I invest are updated very regularly.

The only concern I have with this method is not being able to get regular mortgages in my name after I get too many.