On the other hand, if you are looking to do a more heavy value-add with renovation you may look for bridge or private money options.

We were paying a bookkeeper $450/month, plus the $90 QB subscription to do our books but I felt like we were still having to tell her how to categorize everything so it just didn't feel like we were getting our money's worth.

looking longterm who knows what's going to happen in the market.The largest thing to be cautious about is that with commercial tenants you as the owner often have to put up money in the form of a check or abated or free rent to help the tenant get open for business and build out the space. 

And I've always heard that a very big % of those who work in D.C. for F.Gov jobs, don't actually live in D.C., they live just outside.

I'm born and raised in Iowa (actually a suburb of Des Moines), I now live 2 hours away in Cedar Rapids, because I like this market better.  

The days of cash flowing and not leaving any money in the deal is gone(unless it's a unicorn). 

Yes, they are actually selling individual units as well

that money is not the same as cash... you're paying interest on it.but let me know if i am missing something.

But Focal is making more money than my kmart headphones.I would like to go into real estate on a focal level.So the question is: which niche market has the highest returns in real estate?

Denver (and Colorado) is a destination for people with money.