My goal is create a bit of cash flow with some rental properties.I currently rent and really want to change that in a smart way.  

Work together, work smart.

There are definitely smart ways to do it.

We've been able to learn from some mistakes, but have also really grown in our passion for educating ourselves in these fields in recent years.We have four young kids (ages 8 months to 7 years), so that keeps us fairly busy, but also drives us to put the work smart, hard, and right now.

I did all my training in the 70's to mid 80's  after that my skills were set.. all though you need to tune them up..And with the internet and smart phones and such I am sure there are many new techniques that we never were taught..

Tenants love the 70-100Mb bandwidth and it is a definite "plus" in filling our student rentals.Normally, I would have included Internet it in this unit, but where I opened my mouth and prematurely discounted the rent, we did not offer it - though we did pull the glass (fibre-optic cable) into the communications room.Ironically, this renovation cost about the same as purchasing a 2/1 or 3/1 in your farm and must seem completely over-the-top to you  .... it aggravates me and I'm fully cognisant that we have a much higher cost of "everything" (and an ill Loonie to top it off).  

So basically, buy smart. 

Cohoes, unfortunately, is quite the opposite- their code department is less than reputable, the eviction process is incredibly expensive and time-consuming, and the real estate prices reflect that sad reality- smart investors want little to do with Cohoes.

You are smart to recognize that in your careers you will not make a ton of money.  

I'm a pretty smart guy.