I would love to see everyone succeed in real estate or their chosen field, but I have seen the results of folks, especially the elderly who have lost nearly everything they had folks who promised but did not deliver. 

Lots of cash buying in the area.I have also seen some financing buys that must work out to be pure equity/appreciation gambles in that area.In the event that you DO fine a price point that works you will likely have to compete with a favored cash buyer.

Ultimately, YOU need to determine which investment is better for the investment strategy you have chosen for yourself.As a side note, you DEFINITELY need reserves for anything you do. 

The gamble is of course I pay the payment out of pocket during turn overs.

The current stragety we have chosen is to buy and hold multifamily and single family properties and rent them out. 

So unless you are willing to gamble with your savings, you do not save much time buying turnkey.

We have chosen a top notch national Professional Management Company to work with.

I like to INVEST in real estate, not GAMBLE.....

As far as consolidating your debt, if you are able to save $400 a month once you purchase a home, pay off debts starting from either lowest amount or highest rate and work your way up (or down, depending on the method chosen).

This also poses risk for short-term mortgages or ARMs.If you're going to hold rentals, my suggestion would be to set a longer-term time horizon unless you feel like gambling...