As America goes to a more 'feudal' transition in next decade where land ownership is owned by a few and million of renters post-inflation period, this creates phenomenon that many of the institutions wanna be a landlord. 

I am 41 and going to make my 40’s the decade I retire and transition into investing only .Real estate has spiked me as an employee it has me seeing things much differently .

Also, if you decided later on to hire a PM, the cost would transition seamlessly because it would be around the same 8% you were paying yourself. 

If the loan is in transit it has a higher chance of being found.  

I like the area but you have to be comfortable with a somewhat "transitional" area, some patchy areas with crime, etc, but confined to certain blocks - check Trulia heat map. 

That is the power of the 1031 exchange and the Multifamily business model.SwannyWhen you transitioned to multi (greater than 4 units per property), out of state, did you find a partner in Ohio?   

When the time comes to transition to bigger properties, I want to use the equity in these smaller unit properties to purchase the big one. 

Sounds like transitional housing???

We started out with single family homes and are transitioning into more multi family units now.  

Investing while in the military is one of the best decisions you can make, and will make your transition out much smoother knowing that you have built a portfolio of cash-flowing properties to help fund your lifestyle and possibly dive into full-time if you so choose.I highly recommend looking into "Active Duty Passive Income" and connecting with those fine men and women who are investing heavily while still on Active duty.Based on your budget, I would personally recommend saving as much as you can for now and using this period of time to learn as much as you can.