The real problem I see here is not about grass.....quit focusing on grass, cost to cut, her divorce, being nice or not.  

in three years is slow, and probably because you’re putting less focus on real estate investing.

I am a Real Estate agent in Boston, MA focusing on sales, both residential and commercial, and rentals. 

Focusing on the numbers for a certain house is good but if you have great cashflow in a neighborhood with decreasing property values then you better have a 10 year plus hold gameplan and some places will never go back to their prior prices.  

One additional piece of advice I have is that when you find an area of real estate that you're interested in, focus on that niche, whether it be flix and flips, wholesaling, buy and hold, etc. 

The first piece of advice would be to narrow your focus, if you try to do everything when first starting out you will end up doing nothing. 

And you would have to find a property manager which can be tough on smaller properties.As a passive investor in syndications on the other hand, you just need to focus on meeting some of the syndicators.

That's more time than you think if you're focused and using good professionals to help you find your next property. 

Columbus is an incredible market (real estate and quality of life)...everyone loves where they live, but it's really exciting to see the growth and expansion of the city here...I wouldn't hesitate to say (besides the weather in the winter ;) Columbus is one of the top 5 cities in the country...my prediction was the population would double 2-yrs ago and everyone laughed...but the city is on track to make it happen.Is there a particular area of the city you'll be focused on?

Please click on the links, give them a read, and share your thoughts in the comments.First is a post that I feel will help not get overwhelmed with the amount of info that is here on BP:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5868/52761-the-simple-guide-to-getting-started-on-bp The second is a post that will help get you focused with your real estate investing goals:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5868/52743-im-new-to-bp-any-advice-would-be-appriciatedThe last one is a post that will help you choose an “investor friendly” real estate agent.