Government "repatriation" of land was really only a problem back in the 80's after the Sandanista's took control and redistributed the land from wealthy foreigners to locals in following their communist ideals at the time.

Their product is not making your wealthy, its not making you poor and teaching you how to live a comfortable, safe, secure, responsible life with no risk.

And Texans are by history and culture a good bit more self-determined and self-reliant than the average city dwelling American. 

A primary reason (among a couple others) I'm getting into real estate, is for the wealth. I

The fact that your mom cant loan you 500k I would assume means that most of her personal wealth is tied to her equity.

Growing up in the Bay Area, the "culture" of the area really makes a lot of people sacrifice in order to stay (it's not just the weather - that tends to be a SoCal thing).

I bought the car when I was 21, and in my childish attempt to look and feel wealthy, all I did was cripple the potential growth of my net worth. 

I figured that would be the case & yes they do have that time of wealth. Is

I know a lot of very wealthy SFH holders and we have done extremely well without MFH.

I should have found a market with a smaller but adequate rental base without a "deadbeat" culture.