The best piece of advice would be to just jump in and take action; books and articles provide great ways to learn but ultimately hands on experience always works best so just start doing some wholesale deals

I'm an aspiring real estate investor with the ultimate goal to one day own an apartment complex and live my life with full financial freedom.   

Either that or save up to purchase another.

weve been together 5 years and have 2 children but one never knows what could happen. we are just trying to get as many 3 families as possible for now and hopefully be able to have 1 or 2 of our wives not have to work full time then save up and try a flip or two with an 'expert' investor friend we have.

@Mike D'Arrigo i am saving up by working two jobs but i am anxious to get things done to move on to another propery.

So you’re basically doing the right work but saving $$$.

Because you are using the same payment on a smaller amount, the APR is always higher than the actual note rate on your loan.applicationThe form used to apply for a mortgage loan, containing information about a borrower's income, savings, assets, debts, and more.appraisalA written justification of the price paid for a property, primarily based on an analysis of comparable sales of similar homes nearby.appraised valueAn opinion of a property's fair market value, based on an appraiser's knowledge, experience, and analysis of the property.

If your investor you must save save saveMy overall point.

3) I'd go with Vacancy of 8.33% as this will mean you save up one month of rent every 12 months, 4) 3% repairs seems low, if it were me I'd at least bump it up to 5%, and 5) even though you plan to live there and self-manage there may come a day where you want/need to outsource management of your properties so it's usually a good idea to budget for management costs like @Doug Shapiro was saying.

Hello Ive flipped houses for a few years and have saved up $250+k and am looking into taking my business more in the direction of the passive income strategy.