We would do the painting, tiling, cabinets, trim, granite, and hardware installing ourselves to save money.

So for example, on a $1M property, I'm likely to find $30,000-$80,000 in savings, after tax.  

I guess I am trying to say money didn't come easily and we scraped by for the first two deals to make them happen with the caveat that if these didn't work we would lose as we went all in and it would be back to the 9-5 and saving just to hope to retire at age 65. 

I have no one to blame but myself for not participating in financial decision making, carrying credit card balances, being ignorant of our retirement savings and mortgage details, having no personal plan for my own financial future, and never creating a budget.

You should plan to have enough savings to cover down time in rent and repairs. 

if you want to save time and have$60 this was a good coursehttp://www.nightbeforetheexam.com/real-estate-exam/

I live in the San Fernando Valley where property appreciation is rising but I don’t have a very large savings.

I designed my own house and it took me awhile to understand what can be done using cost saving design strategies.

Partly because of the cost savings, but partly because of the knowledge you'll gain that will be important as you grow your portfolio. 

If you have plenty of time and energy you can save yourself a ton of money on this project, but you are going to work for it, make no mistake.