I learned long ago while being a manager in corporate America that people want to earn, not be given things.

But they earn it.. they took the massive action to run the thing etc..Good luck...

I hope the best for your learning and earning endeavors!

You can deploy that extra capital now while interest rates are low.

That will allow you to earn money transacting in real estate which I believe is your intention.Your not going to be able to find (m)any agents who would be willing to work with a buyer interested in those strategies.

If I had to pay an extra 1-2k to have it taken care of by a PM (which I will hire anyway since I don't want to manage the property myself - I'll be a first time landlord) I would rather go that route.Any advice / tips / feedback would be greatly appreciated.

But, it comes down to your risk aversion: many people in your position (1-8 rentals) have their rentals attached to their Homeowners insurance and then have a personal umbrella for extra protection.  

Looking for advice on where to start and how realistic is it to think I can start earning close to my current salary within the next two years in real estate? 

Flippers and rehabbers get a stable source of funding that can scale (in theory) infinitely as they grow, and investors get a chance to earn stable, decently high returns - with limited downside in the case of well-collateralized land or development projects.Just my observations of the industry so far.

@Kenneth Jackson,About the only option you have is to learn how to team up with money partners, whether that's private lenders, other investors or hard-money.Read up on self-directed retirement accounts and how folks can use them to take more active control of their earnings on their retirement savings.When you can show folks how you can get them 12% to 20% return on their money versus the beating their savings has taken on Wall Street - 50% to 90% losses, you'll soon have more money available than you can find deals to do.There was a post in another thread about the biggest mistakes newbies make.