In reality, if you’re not budgeting for OpEx, that money is already spent—it just hasn’t left your account yet.That’s where Break-Even Occupancy comes in.

Know your buy box and stick to it.My wife and I were able to retire from real estate in a little over 10 years and while the COVID appreciation certainly helped accelerate things, it ultimately came down to consistency and patience.For some perspective: if your goal is to replace $150K in income and you can achieve around a 7% annual return, you’d need roughly $2.1M in invested capital to reach that target.Best of luck — and remember, real estate isn’t a get-rich-quick game.

First thing I'd say really get clear on your buy box.

It was the end of August.We spent about 6 months working on a deal.Got it under contract. 

@Jaycee Greene thanks, SFH are my buy box for now. 

Don’t just “check a box” with automated results.

Those extra steps catch fraud, false documents, and applicants who might otherwise slip through.In short, don’t just “check the box” because a package looks convenient—make sure the data behind it is accurate, current, and reviewed by people who understand housing compliance.

Out of the box, there are very few settings you need to tweak to get up and running.

I've been using seller financing a lotI Made $23,000 In A Few Days On A Property I Spent $100 Onhttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/1264822-i-ma... 

I spent time vetting both and stayed involved early on, which made a big difference.