By growing that trusted circle you do not have to create as many small party contacts.

It seems every kind of commercial property near growing college campuses is skyrocketing with regards to value and rents.

Hope this helps.I've been doing a lot of research on this the past year, and this is what I've found (I could be wrong of course):Material prices aren't too much different around the country if you shop around for suppliers (there are differences in areas where shipping is more difficult and costly), and labor prices are surprisingly consistent (though there is a range of about 25-35%) if you ignore the high priced areas.Obviously, there will be regional differences in both labor and materials (especially in places where climate, soil and natural conditions impact building codes), but if you ignore places like NY, NJ, California, etc, you'll find that prices generally fall within 25-50%.I see you're in NJ, so you can probably throw the prices I mention out the window, but for a surprisingly large % of the country (especially between the coasts), prices will be pretty consistent within a 25-35% range.All that said, this is a topic I'm very interested in, and would love other data points, as I could be wrong

Hopefully, I can grow my portfolio and pass it on to my children later in life.

Our landlord had watched him grow up (no relation, just lived nextdoor) and decided to take a chance on renting to two young kids.

Retail natural gas has been good and I'd think retail heating oil in the north would be okay.Don't do much stock anymore, seems like industrial robotics will be good and R&D in medical robotics.

Right now If I was to buy anything publically traded it might be energy, Specifically oil and natural gas for the long haul.

Least - I grow tired of tenants sometimes :) And, the weight of it all sometimes seems ominous, but I just remind myself that everything cashflows.Full time real estate is fun - but only if you LOVE real estate.

To bring it back, I would do a cash business of whatever I can do (legally) to make the most cash, and reinvest it in profitable buy/hold properties and grow it at a reasonable rate.

Once the relationship grows, you may find that they are happy to take you under their wing and "show you the ropes."