Plus I need an energy audit and structural engineer to design the foundation (per the city.)

As an active real estate investor I can tell you it’s going to be hard to make $300k a year and not divert time and energy away from your day job.

@Joel Owens thanks for the advice. flip is unsecured. this is in the single digit percentage of net worth, so I haven't put as much energy towards this, but still needing to come to a conclusion. 

Avoid the economic occupancy where the tenant isn’t paying rent.  

@Scott PassmanIf the point is that you don't need to do courses in REI to make money in it, sure.If the point is that college is really not the best place for types that can handle self-education, sure. even Elon Musk has repeatedly gone on the record to insist that he's a better rocket scientist for having two BS degrees in economics and physics and then dropping out of a PhD in energy physics, and a lot of people he's hired agree.But the reality as I saw it in my former profession as a teacher is that most people suck at self-education, suck at a nuts-and-bolts level on the tools of autonomous learning, research and analysis, suck in general at doing anything when someone isn't there holding their hand for them and patting them on the back every day.

The land would have to be a sweetheart deal, IMO and you'd have to know that the pain, time and energy you're going to expend would be relatively equal to co-investing in a larger play or bringing together other investors to do a larger value-add or development. 

Need more detail as there was court case classifying the solar equipment as personal property, not real property2) You might be able to get Business Energy CreditMight be worth talking to Tax professional because credit can give you significant tax saving as credit decreases your tax dollar for dollar.

I like a lot of the economic indicators: jobs, population growth, appreciation potential in Texas but I'm a touch weary about the high property tax rates while I'm unable to take advantage of no state income tax.

Hi @Tracie Janoska - living in Austin does lend to bias, though I can say the economic growth in north Austin and the availability of quadplexes in a variety of conditions makes it a good market to consider a quad. 

From what I have read on the forums and listened to on the podcasts etc. so far, it doesn't really seem like it is necessary to get a master's and maybe my energy would be better directed getting more practical and hands on experience.