[sunstone]

If you didn't at least buy an S&P 500 index fund when it was tanking in March then investing might not be your strength.

Otherwise, as a rule of thumb, everyone who starts out poor and ends up rich does it in real estate. (That's not the same as saying everyone who invests in real estate gets rich.) There's a fundamental tenet of profitable investing that makes this so but you don't have to understand that in order to profit from a real estate investment.

It's not stupid to both rent the home you live in while at the same time buying a home to rent to others. This maximizes flexibility but with some extra effort.

[rdtwo]

The fist part is kind of garbage but real estate is true.

For whatever reason real estate gets preferential risk treatment in the US. If you pick a hot area you can double your leverage in 7-10 years that’s typically a 500% return. You don’t pay taxes on that gain and your downside is limited to 20% in most non recourse states.

That being said it would be hard to guess what a hot area is right now. Maybe Boise Idaho, and Bend Oregon