I still remember standing at the starting line of my real estate journey wondering: Where am I going to get the down payment? At the time, I was working at Tesla. I'd just received a significant stock allotment, and things were uncertain with my partner's job. We were anxious, but we both knew one thing: We needed a second source of income—something that wasn't tied to a paycheck. That's when a friend—already investing—brought us two off-market deals. One was a 3-unit building (2 beds, 1 bath...