Do you surround yourself with fellow investors to stay focused?

You need to pick couple of markets and focus on them and slowly expand your wings to other markets.

I have managed 200+ units at once and can tell you that starting out you should focus on setting up your processes contracts and such, then scale to larger properties.For our clients that manage themselves we try to set them up with as much of the infrastructure as possible so that they have a head start and can just worry about the normal tenant issues.

Stock market investors are often so focused on growth that many do not realize how the leverage, cash flow, and tax-deferral of real estate investing can combine to produce potent returns.

No way, but I do my very best to rent to good people.Thomas, what kinds of neighborhoods do you focus on, out of curiosity?

It sounds like your mindset is focused on minimums instead of maximums. $5K is good for an emergency savings account in case the transmission goes out on your car.

We are going to narrow our focus to one of these markets for now and get our feet wet by finding the right realtor, property manager, lender, and contractors in the market we choose.

Any connections or great investment-focused realtors and property managers you can suggest? 

Just make sure to hire a realtor or PM company that specializes or at least has a focus in leasing.

My biggest motivation for doing this is to be able to achieve financial freedom, hopefully within 10 years, so that I can focus on other things without being too preoccupied with money matters all the times.