This larger downpayment would require me to liquidate stocks which I am not too keen of doing at the moment.As an active listener of the BiggerPockets podcast, I'm well aware that midwest markets like Indianapolis, Cleveland, etc. are the "top" markets these days in terms of current growth + affordability.

Over time, gain knowledge and experience so that one day 3 or 4 deals down the road, one is ready to handle the huge responsibility of taking care of other people’s cash.One should also take stock of where they are at - what strength and capabilities they have, what income, what amount of capital, who their social and professional sphere is, etc etc and then come up with a real aka tic plan as to how to proceed.This all can be done but it takes a cold hard assessment of reality and then consistent effort over time to make it happen.Now that @Amir owns some rental property, he can tell his friends, family and associates about it and as they see him do well, NOW he will have more success asking for capital to do bigger deals.There’s an expression How does one eat an elephant?

It's more like directly investing in non-Fortune 5000 (yes, that's 5000, not 500) stocks.- What do you think will happen if you do this without a LOT of research? 

If I decide to invest in say a SFR and for some reason none of the 3,262,000 SFR on the market can a deal be made with, I can invest my money in commercial property, real estate syndications, REITs, real estate notes, real estate note funds, money market funds, index equity stock funds, bonds, and about 10 million other investments, to obtain the ROI I seek.A benefit of making an offer good (or GREAT) for you and not worrying about what the seller wants or needs (at least in your initial offer) is that if you get a quick “no” you can move on to the next deal without wasting a month negotiating a deal that has no chance to close.  

My husband pulled it from his company stock, so I think we are all good :)

I would not risk my mother’s money in stocks or crypto or any other avenue I have no experience in.

Stock Market and Bond market are the best right now.

You notice people still invest in IRAs, 401ks and stock portfolios?

We end up stocking about 50/50 because my wife will drink my bourbon (she doesn't want her own glass, she just wants some of mine even if I'm not having some).

Instead of the 60/40 stock to bond portfolio, I'd like for real estate to replace the bond portion.