I have a small beach condo 90mins away that I went higher end on key pieces like Bassett for bedroom and misc living/dining room tables.

I guess I'm at a point where it makes sense to me to start to take risk off of the table ( I'm aware stock investing is risky, I'm mostly talking about paying down the 7.5% mortgage) and would love to hear from people with the same mindset.

I have always been interested in investing in real estate and finally decided to jump in.

Wow that is real fraud with a lot of $$ on the table. 

It works well because it helps me to home-in on what I am really looking for so I can act quickly when it finally comes up.Also, I just use traditional 30-year fixed financing. 

Quote from @Charlie Green: I’m finalizing a $100k private note at 30 % APR to fund multiple flips (one property pledged as junior lien).

Judges orders are final.

Not a chance.We went back and forth and finally settled for $2,800.

I saved a bunch of cash, also took cash from my retirement accounts & brought it to the table.

Still, my final sentiment is to invest all your profits in properties that you can own in the long term, thereby reducing your overhead of rent payments, which can be challenging to sustain over time, and engaging in arbitrage.