You can accumulate liens on good properties and, though unlikely, ultimately take possession of the property. 

For example, if inflation averages 5%/Yr and there are no market corrections, you will need to accumulate over $8M.Real EstateAchieving financial independence through real estate is different.

I don’t have much practical experience yet, but I analyze properties every day and try to understand how the market works.I’m at a point where I want to start investing, but I have limited resources and many possible paths wholesaling, get a w2 job for a DSCR loans or fha, flips, etc.).I’d love to hear advice from experienced investors: if you were in my position at 19, what would you do to start building a real estate portfolio or gaining real experience?

@Jean Rhem, if you think you're maxed out on the property's potential and decide to sell, you could consider doing a 1031 exchange like @Sultan Ali had mentioned.A 1031 exchange would allow you to defer all of the tax from the sale and reinvest it into another investment property/properties.

I say may because some agents are not good at their jobs, but charge the same.I would look for a broker that has sold similar properties to what you have.

Our REIG has deals offered at the start of every meeting.Equity accumulation is a great goal but as you have seen here, there are a number of deals that can wipe out the profit of multiple deals in one shot. 

Even hard money loans are over a year past due but Dutch says that’s okay since they’re still accumulating interest so it’s a good deal.

Now, based on your timeline of how long it takes to get from one property addition to the next, and how much you are adding on in profit/CF from each property, how long will it take you to get to your financial goal?

I am being paid lumpsum by my tenant and I am out of clues as to what I should be doing with the 1.5 years of rental income that I accumulated.

The first question has to be are you using the funds to buy the new property out right or are you looking to take out the cash for a down payment?