I wouldn't put much stock in Zillow Zestimates.

@Gayle MelnickA dishwasher and a stock base cabinet aren’t too far apart in cost.

They offer low fees, cloud based platform and great stock options.

Downtown mt rainier and the arts district in hyattsville are my top choices for walkability and cute housing stock.

I have a decent amount of money currently invested in the stock market.

You bring up a few great points about - You can use the money in the IRA to buy more real estate as long as you are not actively managing itAs that was kind of my concern... i currently contribute to get the company match on my 401k, but increasing my contributions once married or having a roth in my view kind of seems like storing money away i cant use on (rentals, stocks, etc.) for 30 or so years.

big money is made in speculation ( appreciation)  maybe just dont put all your eggs in one basket.you can have both.. just like a balanced stock portfolio.. 

Finally I selected ashpalt shingles and used a long term local roofing business with their warehouse and material in their own stock. other contractors buy from these guys so using them directly is better than using individual contractors who may not stay in business for long time.

Most of the people work from home and they have more hours to think and read news ,people with little inclination towards real estate want to put some money into Real estate as everyone predicts a down turn in Stock market.

Get to FI through a combination of stock market and real estate investments.