My ability to retire depends of course on an income stream.

Anyone who is holding houses that are negative cashflowing but being supported by other cashflow streams would be wise to get rid of those while the market is still high. 

Since losing my Corporate job though I've run into a brick wall with traditional lenders in trying to grow my portfolio because I no longer have a regular stream of income.

Real estate investing is a way for me to build an income stream where I don't have to physically be somewhere to get paid, so I can be there for my family both physically and financially whenever I want.

This can also give you faster service in times of need.This is a For Profit business & every revenue stream should have profit attached to it.

But then part of me knows the base here is a hub that keeps people coming in so that pushes me closer to considering an investment here.  

I then took that dual income stream and bought my 3rd, 4th, 5th etc. 

Anyway, since you won't find many "hard money lenders" willing to do deals for as little as just a few thousand dollars, we started leveraging our existing clients who are looking for more revenue streams, and borrowing the money from them. 

Also my local urban market has a lot of potential for upside given it is a major transportation hub with direct access to NYC in less then 20 min via train or path train, there are major universities in the downtown, NHL team, and is the main location for Prudential, who is actively investing in building more office towers in the 'hood'.

This is simply another revenue stream, and not meant to defer their overhead cost.3.