I have one big parcel zoned at Santa Cruz County R-1-15 after building an ADU recently.

Downsides is you have less of your feet on the ground and really need to trust and verify all vendors.

Quote from @Dominic Mazzarella: I would ask this, when raising capital for a real estate syndication, what strategies have you found most effective for building trust and credibility with first-time passive investors?

Is it as simple as getting the site designed and engineered for the footprint, cleared and graded (all of which I am comfortable with), and then hiring a GC to build the building?

After building a portfolio of fully renovated homes I wanted to give this model a chance.

Build rapport. 

Hey everyone,I’m a real estate investor looking to build stronger relationships with agents to access off-market deals.

I really trusted my agent and knew several people who had invested in Reno so I took the leap after trying and failing for years to buy my own home in really high cost cities where I lived (NYC, DC, SF Bay area). 

The drawback is you need to build trust and relationships upfront.Both have their place, but private money tends to offer more flexibility, while hard money is more structured and accessible if you lack personal connections.

Please consider this if you move forward.Additionally, you need to have a broker on payroll in illinois and three separate bank accounts with the security deposit trust account located in illinois.