Somewhere in the middle would be to invest in a fund or syndication. 

I guess I'm not surprised because when I call my fellows agents, half or more of them can't be bothered to pick up their phone and would rather text, or whenever they actually pick up they always sound like they are at Target or getting a massage in the middle of the day, and not actually working. 

There are so many people there that have been in the real estate game for a long period of time and they can really help you cut through the noise.There is a really good meet up that you can find on BP that meets once a month as well that takes place at the ivy in Buckhead.

You can still get into the middle ground here for under 300k which is appealing.

Heck, I see old duffers out there in the middle of the summer (in the morning :-). 

Many that I've talked to are now working their own acquisition strategies using call centers, etc. to take cold and warm lists to hotter and then focusing more time speaking directly with potential motivated sellers from those hot lists, rather than using a wholesaler (or any other middle man) to source deals.

I'm in the middle of a multifam BRRR. 

I see that you are in Tennessee are you in the Middle Tennessee area?

If every property is presented a low cime areas and B to B+ neighborhoods, but you see run-down areas and clearly blue collar, low to middle income areas, then you know that something is not right and you are being "sold" rather than being led.  

This was a half-finished subdivision from the late 80s with middle to upper-middle class homes - the residents had a lien against the former developer who went bankrupt and left the road in state of disrepair (never done the correct way)...so 10 years bankrupt...I bought it from the town for backtaxes and agreement to build new road.3.