As I get later in a market and cap rates (and as a consequence ROI) gets compressed I start to temper my expectations. 

No cap ex to worry about, likely a long-term situation, and you have the asset as collateral.Either of these options keeps you moving forward from a cashflow perspective but insulates you from the rat race.

This is a great forum with very knowledgeable members that will help to guide you in the right direction.I really like the alerts feature that can quickly guide you to current topics that may be of interest: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsThere are a few self-contained guides that you can access here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides

For example, if you are looking to connect with other members near you, want to learn from people in a specific area you’d like to invest in, or have a desire to find people interested in certain topics, you could use the search feature here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/search/users

Probably the only way you get there, "fast" as you put it, is to use that 250 as downpayment and leverage another million against it. 1.2 million with a cap rate of 9 - if you can find it - would get you $108k before you pay your note, and your note is going to be about $50-60k depending on your rates, which leaves you 48k-58k free.

@Matt Teegarden, as noted, the deeper the value-add play the less cap rate matters.

This is a great forum with very knowledgeable members that will help to guide you in the right direction.There are a few self-contained guides that you can access here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guidesI really like the alerts feature that can quickly guide you to current topics that might interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts

Make sure you check out all that this site has to offer.There are some pretty nice discounts on many products and services offered as Perks to BP members that you might want to check out: https://www.biggerpockets.com/perks/proI really like the alerts feature that can quickly guide you to current topics that may be of interest: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts

What was brought back in though was the $10M cap on retirement accounts, although this provision won't go into effect until 2029.

For example, if you are looking to connect with other members near you, want to learn from people in a specific area you’d like to invest in, or have a desire to find people interested in certain topics, you could use the search feature here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/search/users