Make sure to check out your local BP meet ups down in SoCal - great resource and will be very helpful for you to ask people in person how they have successfully achieved what they have.

Although this is a common statement, I have recently committed myself to achieving this goal, and believe it is a very realistic, and attainable one. 

I will not let hard situations stop me from achieving my goal.

My plan has yet to be developed but my strategy is to achieve that mainly through buy and hold in Northwest Indiana.  

People vary widely on what they consider a good ROI as there are other factors to consider such as appreciation, your personal goals and how you are using property to achieve certain goals.  

If you have other goals, we have to know what those are before we can recommend a course to achieve those goals. 

C-class investments generally offer a 12% or higher return but based on the elevated risk involved, these numbers are tough to achieve and even harder to maintain.Hope this helps.  

My goal is long-term income to achieve the rate race number (See below link).

I couldn't stand to watch my landlord double up (probably more) every month with my rental payments.My first purchase is near a college and I know that I can get significantly higher rent from students...However, I know first hand the damage a college student can bring to an apartment/ house/ neighborhood. 

@John UppermanI am in 100% agreement with @Alex Craig @Haim Mamane Palman and @Jay Hinrichsit's a no brainer if you can buy local and achieve the 11.84% ROI that you state above by all means that's the deal I would take all day everyday!!