In order to pursue my dream of achieving financial freedom through real estate, I have decided to move back in with my parents (lower my living expenses) and go back to school to finish my degree so that I can increase my income and the amount of capital I have to invest.

This will provide a buffer to a degree. 

No charge - all like-minded people of different degrees of experience.Bob

The major consideration is the degree you plan to market the location.

Question 2:  Keeping in mind that this is friends and family and not investors outside our our first-degree contacts, what sort of financial and legal issues do we need to keep in mind, if any?

It's not clouding my judgment (to a large degree), it's just a question of fairness to the other person and me not getting ripped off. 

They will have lower risks, but there is still a degree of risk within all credit tenants.

Honestly, I'm not sure if it served that purpose very well because I think that someone can definitely learn a lot from personal finance books about real estate and stocks and just skip the four year degree (for personal investing - not business finance). 

Interest rates will cool demand to some degree, but not enough to balance the market.This year buyers will be a bit more selective, so really preparing your home for the market is important, and overpricing your home initially could actually end up hitting your bottom line.What are your thoughts?

If the median home price in Austin hits $1M in the next few years then I would say, with a high degree of confidence, that many owners would happily count that appreciation as a phenomenal investment.