I’m currently working on improving my financial position as to be ready to purchase a small multifamily property.

If they do this, you may get the money back, eventually, but you may have to go to court to do so.

Is email / text communication admissible in court in lieu of  a signed contract ?

I have always believed in the power of real estate as a means to financial freedom (my dad bought me Rich Dad Poor Dad when I was a kid).

You'll only see depreciation on your financial statements and your tax returns. 

I don't know what your financial situation is but early on after 5 properties (my primary plus 4 rentals) I hit a wall in qualifying. 

Where it can become really tricky is that I have heard of one instance where the delinquent owners didn't file the exemption then after the sale and 6 month period were able to claim some reason as to why they weren't able to file the exemption and were able to get their property back after improvements were made.The court does require that anyone redeeming a property pay 25% interest on the purchase price plus expenses to maintain and secure the property (not upgrades).

There is a BP podcast where Brad Dantonio talks about his financial independence while owning only 5 units!

I have 2 and 1/2 years left on my Army contract and my goal is to be financially free through passive income by the time that contract ends.

I have been doing a very slow crawl (while I clean up past financial mistakes & save cash for future successes) to get into the investment side, but have been working to gather some priceless experience along the way.We purchased our first home in 2005 and that became our very first rental in 2009!