The one thing in my life that has always been a struggle is staying focused on my goals. 

if you enable an alcoholic he will take you down with him... you need to see a counselor that specializes in alcoholic family issues...do this to save his life. good luck and Godspeed

My hunger for wealth is eating at me. i need help to start my investment portfolio and begin my own financial life.

Ali Boone, I can't for the life of me understand why you think San Diego, Orange and Riverside Counties are not good areas for generating passive income. 

This is something I have always wanted to do and I'm now at a point in my life that I can try.

She's an 83 year old woman and needs the money for the rest of her life.

Although my career is a huge part of my life, I want to start building wealth so I can spend more time with my wife and kids, and spend a bit more time at home.

I'm skeptical because we always heard refinancing was bad and generally increased the life of the loan, and therefore, increased the interest paid on it.

Not sure how much you need monthly to quit the rat race, but a building that size for a relatively newbie investor will probably make you broke or hate life without the experience to back it up.

@Chris W.Everyone is going to give advice based upon their goals and desired outcome in life.