On the other hand, doing nothing meant taking a big chance on the integrity of an existing roof covering—a roof covering that had already exceeded its statistical life cycle in sustaining numerous repairs along the way—to make it through the Winter ahead and protect inventory inside the building against water damage due to a roof leak.

I had a property manager that ended up being a crook/scammer (cost me about $10k), I had a tenant that I had screened well abandon a unit (arrested for felony), another tenant abandon a unit and has bounced rent checks (attempting to collect, owes $5k), and another tenant suddenly had to vacate due to health problems. 

Cons = Some people may be reluctant to use due to the cost (as evidenced by the numerous posts on BP that really should be directed to attorneys or CPA's yet get posted on a public forum instead). 

In addition to an income stream, it is health insurance for my family, and perceived "lender-stability".

Here are some thoughts:Rent minus PITI is a long ways from actual projected cash flow as there are numerous other expenses.The fact that you meet the primary residence qualification to avoid taxes on gains must weigh into any decision.Retail SFR in San Diego do not cash flow at purchase. 

Going over the numerous posts on BP will certainly help to find both sides: the investors and the sponsors in order to start networking as @Mike Dymski advised.

This will handle the problem with your PM.The Tenants won't be so easy to evict because they have legitimate requests: health issues means safety.

Build a good foundation of health, fitness, and strength, because at that age it is easy.

I know this subject has been discussed numerous times and yet it still seems to be a "burning" question for many newbies (I am one of them).

Hello Fellow BP'rs,I wanted to throw this topic out into the crowd and see how it surfs.I've been thinking of reasons why people get excited about investing in real estate, but get stuck in analysis paralysis and never pull the trigger, as I, myself, have just as much trouble with this as the next investor.There are obviously numerous, individual barriers that each person must figure out how to overcome: not enough initial capital, no connections, not enough knowledge to where they feel comfortable moving forward, etc, etc.