A more accurate way to describe it is "I received no income" - because you can have deals but still have no profit if your expenses are greater than your income.If you were actively looking for deals (and can document it) - as opposed to merely planning to start later - then you file Schedule C and claim business expanses such as marketing, driving, technology and so on. 

This loan will have the highest cash to close requirement out of these three examples although the interest payment is merely being fronted as opposed to being paid monthly. 

I am not opposed to the idea but definitely need to get more educated on the details such as where exactly, is it too crowded of a space, how to be competitive, maintenance requirements for a beach rental, etc.

We started looking at coaching programs and some of these things just seem ridiculous at 20-40 grand, and some seem more like life coaching programs as opposed to real estate programs. we don't want to syndicate we really would just like to find someone that we can bounce deals / ideas off of and have them assist in underwriting and giving us a better sense of security that we are doing the right thing.

I would also invest in a handful of Syndications that are steady and boring as opposed to the flashy ones.

That could be as simple as changing the description to highlight how close your units are to the refinery as opposed to just the college.

It actually works out better when you enjoy the asset yourself as opposed to someone who just wants the money. 

Less transparency generally hurts consumers as opposed to helping them. 

Introduce yourself to people who are actually doing what you want to do every day as opposed to creating videos and selling educational materials. 

@Kevin Collins I apologize; my response came out a little rough around the edges and I assume that you certainly have done your homework prior too.... but that is a bit of my point... nothing will change when you go and work with a realtor and find investment properties yourself... figuring out what the property is worth IS PART OF THE ANALYSIS (if that's important to you) and because of this it is no different than other than you should now be verifying what the realtor will tell you it's worth as opposed to what the turnkey is telling you.