It's not a guarantee but will greatly reduce risk.

Now, if you are investing in your own state and in areas that you know then getting your real estate license might be worth it, especially if you are trying to save as much money as possible since you could earn the real estate commission on homes listed on the MLS or with sellers that are paying commissions to agents.

Presently I work full time at Wal-Mart as a Maintenance Supervisor and wish to be able to earn a self sustaining income through real estate so that I can retire my 9 to 5 job, be my own boss and have time to travel with my wife and enjoy life.                            

I guess in a way, we'd be doing that in any home we're paying for, but we'd also be getting paid by the LLC to manage the other rentals, so it would reduce our living expenses even further.

These funds can give out their advertised dividends and simply drain the NAV (i.e. reduce the price per share) effectively negating your dividends.  

I understand it’s difficult to house hack a cash flowing property, however, my intention here is to reduce my monthly living costs and get my first deal under my belt.Below, you can find my initial house hacking analysis for a property in the Boston area.

@Chris Connolly because you should just buy something turn key for $100k earn a higher return and not have to deal with a rehab

The only security deposit deductions should come from move out damage.By this method your property is always in tip top condition and turn over costs are reduced to your normal wear and tear items.

If there is no contract, then it is really your discression but if it were me and I earned any interest, I would pay it out.

If you wanted to be a full time commercial broker that is where you go and cut your teeth for a few years until you earn your stripes.