Make sure you don't by an expensive software program to do this.There are products sold based on saving mortgage payers thousands of dollars.All you have to do is what Steve said above...and it is free!

...I can save/accumulate $15,000- $20,000 per year to acquire properties....realistically, how many properties for buy and hold can I acquire per year at this rate?...

We use the same MLS software and last night I got the same thing.I have several saved searches/auto emails setup so I can know when certain things come on and off the market and last night the system deactivated every search I had because it responded with more than 400+ listings for each search all at once; which I guess is too much for the system to handle.I went back in this morning and manually checked and reset it, wasn't legit.

It saves time for sure.

As to your savings, leave it alone, you'll need reserves.

I usually keep my short term money in a money market account which is a little better then a bank savings account.

Assets that may be used to secure funds include automobiles, artwork, collectibles, real estate, or financial assets, such as savings accounts, certificates of deposit, stocks, bonds, and 401(k) accounts.

The key is in saving early on and reinvesting heavily over the long haul.

A good set of phone screen questions saves hours of showings to dead beats.It's my perspective that people who share their criteria consider everyone to be honest and straight forward.

The great thing about starting as a teen is you can build contacts and save money and learn your market so you a ready to jump in right away.