It might not be as sexy, but it gets you started Your first REI experience should not be cash-flow negative, as it might be your last. 

Targeted annualized return is typically in the upper teens achieved over the hold. 

Wholesaling (the right way) will teach you how to find off market dealsHow to negotiate with sellers,Understand seller objections (so you can become a better negotiator)How to read write and understand contractsHow to find ARVsHow to find cost of repairsUnderstand how to flip (as you are dealing with cash buyers that flip)How to do Buy and holds, (as you deal with buyers that do buy and holdsHow to do marketing (you are a marketer, not a wholesaler)How to be awesome, smart and extremely good looking (because you are reading my post, thus connected to me in some shape or form, thus my sexiness will rub off on you.THAT alone is worth doing wholesaling!

To me, being risky and taking calculated risks are two different things, that's why I opened a HELOC for only 50% of my home value. 1) the limited amount curtails being reckless2) it keeps the budget much stricterWhile your VA loan advice is solid and sound (the option to reuse is nice too), I have yet to find a way to convince my wife and two teens to move into a 4-plex.

It is your roadmap for where you want to go and it's just for teens like you!

@Karen Margrave that tub is sexy.

I purchased it in the low teens.

I think it's more for the larger loan amounts = more profit = less need to require discount points for the same rate/FICO/purpose/DP scenario.Funny thing is they look at where my branch is, not where the house is, so I get to do some pretty sexy things lending in rural CA. :) They spank me if I out-compete a local branch of my same company, though, and it's not hard to figure out that Loan Originator Joe in the Eureka branch pulled Sally's credit two weeks before I did from my Bay Area office, so I have to be careful.Taken to the extreme, I have a coworker that used to be at Wells, and thus could lend nationally (big banks excluded themselves from all blame for the recession, so they have zero education/training/testing requirements and can all lend nationally, which is bonkers but that's another story).

With two pre-teens and a three year old my car gets junkie, lol, but I hire help to clean my house.

mine wasn't so sexy; got married 3 years ago; the wife's condo was underwater & wanted to protect her credit; so i became an unintentional landlord. with 50% rule, i was losing about $350/month. today, i lose about $111/month. 3 years ago, a neighbor saw i found a renter for this so they asked me to do the same & I got $300. another person heard i was a landlord & I found her a renter for $300. she then asked me to manage it for $85/month. been doing that for 3 years now & take that $ to further minimized the loss on my wife's condo.