Just last month we were working with someone who had been completely unemployed for over a year (good credit) but had money left over as a safety net in case the worse happened and he wasn't able to find a job. 

Quitting you job to save on taxes may not be the best idea.

Your job isn't to sell properties, it is client acquisition.

My long term objective is to pay off all of the houses over 8-10 years (before retiring from my W2 job). 

How about '09' jobs lost?

Build up job skills, build up savings, and increase your W2 income.

@Robel Nessro Sacrifice, live below your means, save 3-20% for DP (cash, PM, partner), buy a 4-plex with a conventional loan, house-hack, self manage, cut your housing costs in half, and start the REI journey.Own the 4-plex for at least 5 years, graduate, get a real job in DC (keep it), get a job OOS (probably sell). 

That said, smaller towns can sometimes be a mixed bag with things like tenant demand, job diversity, and long-term appreciation, so you’ll want to dig into the local economy and make sure there’s enough rental demand to support your deal.

The bigger problem is you must make more in Real Estate than your W2 job.  

$2.5B New Center by Henry Ford Health, Pistons owner and Michigan State Universityhttps://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2023/02/08/incredible-investment-in-our-city-25b-detroit-neighborhood-redevelopment-to-begin-in-2024/$1.5B Investment, 12,000 temp jobs, 6,000 New Jobs: District Detroit Developmenthttps://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2022/11/15/district-detroit-1-5b-development-to-include-housing-retail-hotels/69649853007/$1.4B Total as Hotel Added to Hudson Sitehttps://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2023/11/02/hudsons-site-hotel-plans-move-ahead-as-city-issues-permit/71426631007/$439M Gilbert Foundation investment in Detroithttps://www.henryfordmsu.org/news/september-2023/gilbert-family-foundation-announces-nick-gilbert-neurofibromatosis-research-institute$400M Investment, 517 New Jobs: Norway’s Nel Hydronhttps://businessfacilities.com/nel-hydrogen-will-build-400m-gigafactory-in-southeast-michigan#:~:text=In%20Southeast%20Michigan-,Nel%20Hydrogen%20Will%20Build%20%24400M%20Gigafactory%20In%20Southeast%20Michigan,green%20hydrogen%20using%20electrolyzer%20technology.$300M Huntington Place Renovations & New Detroit Hotel https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/huntington-place-renovations-new-hotel-deal-reached$200M Chase Investment in Detroithttps://www.axios.com/2023/09/28/detroit-rebound-jp-morgan-investment$44M Investment, 237 New Jobs: Bollinger Motorshttps://michauto.org/bollinger-motors-plans-44m-metro-detroit-investment/$21.5M Investment for Detroit west side Dexter Neighborhoodhttps://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2023/11/01/neighborhood-on-detroits-west-side-receives-more-than-215m-in-investments/$20.6M Investment, 186 New Jobs: BorgWarnerhttps://www.crainsdetroit.com/auto-suppliers/borgwarner-invest-206-million-create-186-jobs$11M, 200 New Jobs: Volkswagen Scout Brand Investment in Detroithttps://www.teslarati.com/volkswagen-scout-11-million-detroit-investment/New Detroit Developments to Be Excited Abouthttps://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/15-new-detroit-developments-to-be-excited-about-photos/Slideshow/32734721/327353923 International Companies Choose Detroithttps://www.detroitregionalpartnership.com/international-investment-comes-to-detroit-region/6 New Residential Developments in Detroithttps://detroitisit.com/6-new-residential-developments-in-detroit-to-know-about/Contact us with any questions you have.