I am able to afford the extra payments and was primarily wanting to use this capital to scale my real estate portfolio via BRRRR.

Closing costs can be thousands of dollars, and you may need to foot the bill for inspections, home repairs, or even fun things, like new furniture.

In my opinion, if you can only afford to buy a duplex, etc. in a bad neighborhood, keep saving.

I am a new investor based in Southern CA but like most can't afford to buy my own home here.

My two short-term objectives are: Scale up my portfolio by accumulating a bunch of BRRRR deals in more affordable markets by relying on a strong boots on the ground team.

Since then I've been obsessed in finding a way to make it happen given my situation, I believe it isn't a typical situation..I currently live in affordable housing tied to my employer and the city.

People in bankruptcy are afforded protections and if you don't follow those protections the penalty is often far worse then anything else.  

Indianapolis is the 16th largest metro area, fastest growing city in the Midwest, AND the 2nd most affordable metro area behind Memphis.

This isn't to say you need to go out and leverage an apartment complex, but most of us can afford a cheap rental here or there in the markets we are selling in.

My two teens and I spent the night moving furniture to the street for bulk trash pick up, cleaning and emptying the house.