Start by being actively involved with your PROPERTY MANAGEMENT duties.  

Lower Start-Up CostsTraditional real estate investing requires 20%-25% down, making it difficult for many to scale quickly.

Self-Employment Opportunities: Would it make sense to start a side business related to my rental properties (such as property management) to access more deductions?

Thank you for starting this!

You don't have to spend a fortune and buy a house directly on the beach to do well, but your starting price point for a viable option in this market is around $350-$450k for a solid 2-3 bedroom oceanfront condo or around $500k for a 3-4 bedroom house within walking distance of the beach. 

I am even good with cash flow neutral - have been since I started - and still can't find deals that work in that regard. 

When you are creating notes from the start with the intent to sale, you can also consider a 1st/2nd structure that can help you achieve similar results as a partial but start getting cash flow sooner. 

You can't just take what you paid and start charging interest on that figure, because part of what you paid was already accrued interest.

I am an investor friendly agent as well looking to start my journey in RE investing.

Write it up to an education, spend some time sharpening your support team (particularly in the trades) and start thinking about how you can do it again!