If the $50k in consumer debt involves vehicles, boats, motorcycles or sellable 'assets', I want to see Bob amputate these by selling them first to  prove he is serious.  

Let real estate be your vehicle to follow your DREAMS.

I was told by an insurance friend that once I do that, my vehicle becomes commercial and if I didnt disclose to insurance company and became involved in an accident, there could be some problems paying out a claim, etc.Thoughts?  

However if you qualify, the solo 401K is a far more robust vehicle and much easier to own and manage real estate, or notes for that matter.

Clair, my wife and i have been building our Commercial fleet vehicle cleaning company here in Charlestono over the past 4 years.  

Pull cash against a paid for vehicle, be sure and remember you'll have to full coverage insurance with that. 

As a lender, I know I have a lot of vehicles available to investors that are helpful in getting parents to assist their kids in this, and I look forward to sharing my expertise with anyone, but I really want to know what you're finding or have found to be a successful and meaningful learning experience for your kids in this arena.  

I am a mechanical engineer and work for an electric vehicle start up company just outside of LA.

If you have $400K in available assets and are looking for $10K per month in income (or $120K in annual income), you'll need about 30% cash-on-cash return to achieve your goal.A few thoughts about that:- Without risk, you won't achieve that right off the bat;- Without leverage, you won't achieve that right off the bat;- For a more realistic shot at $10K per month, you probably should expect a COC return closer to 15-20% maximum (if you're knowledgeable and experienced), which would require a bankroll of about $600-800K.So, unless you're willing to take a lot of risk and/or use a lot of leverage, you probably won't to grow your capital by 50-100% before you expect to achieve your goal.Depending on your skill level with real estate, your chosen investment vehicle(s), your ability to participate actively in your investments and your motivation, I would expect that 50-100% growth to take anywhere from 2-5 years.

Armoured vehicle also haha