I use a fairly good-sized bank but it's regional (Southeast).

Basically, what I am saying is that you can not pay retail and expect to sustain a business that way. 

@Will Fraser thankyou Will for the info I’ll definitely focus more on regional and local banks.

Cash and Loan from a local regional BankHow did you add value to the deal?

I am not opposed to the Miami-Dade or Greater Orlando region.

You might be able to get lucky and get a couple deals under your belt but if you are looking to turn this into a sustainable business then you have to be ready to put in the work. 

Where geographically do I feel the most comfortable investing in terms of personal like and regional potentialPut these two together and now you have a general location and type to begin deep diving. 

- so that pot might slow down but eventually grow isn't it and company matches 5% which is free money. and also to save on taxes there are ways to withdraw only limited amounts from your 401k just to be under the radar as you will be supplemented by social security benefits too)and on #4 - the way I was looking at is - ex: I had put in for example 100k in my stock portfolio and that now becomes 180k (8 yrs time) and I keep re-investing in S&P 500 or any good yielding ETF or stocks as you said providing good dividends - I am considering that as one of the pots of income) - combining all pots should provide you enough to sustain the same lifestyle)what do you think ?

While not iron-clad, I feel comfortable with the premise that my analysis should represent many other regions in the US.

It usually works out well to find a bank local to the specific region you're looking to buy in and build a relationship with their bank.