In this case, you'd just have to drive in some substantial spikes.Anyway, these are just some thoughts.

But, if you do it with your own two hands, then you should factor in the value of your time, which in itself will change the numbers substantially.

You would be opening yourself up to substantial legal liability if you were the PR and used that authority to sell yourself the property. 

Inaccessible piping or pipe configurations that don't lend themselves easily to the up/down split could cost substantially more.

Becoming an uber or other driving service driver can increase your income pretty substantially depending on how much you do it.

The 50k down is a substantial down payment and can get you pretty far especially for your first property.

My vision for the future for myself and my family is one in which I continue to do journalism part time while at the same time investing in some way in real estate with the ultimate goal of having the real estate be a substantial portion of my income (again, journalism doesn't pay that well) so that I don't have to rely solely on the journalism to feed my family. 

Of course you guys know that my advice or any on this site is considered heresay (information received from other people that one cannot adequately substantiate) so why not invest a little time visiting the Housing Courts for a couple of sessions and see for yourself the disposition of the Cases.

Some of these houses in certain areas can be bought for a substantially good price from tax liens.

@Rylan Kean The lady you know takes out a substantial loan from you backed by a mortgage.