You can - 1) establish a trust for asset protection, 2) utilize the Homestead Exemption for property protection, 3) consider tenancy by the entirety for marital property (this might just be applicable to California, my home state)4) make sure you have adequate liability insurance for additional protection, 5) think about forming a business entity to shield assets, 6) and have proper estate planning for asset distribution.Seek tax and legal advice from experts in your state.

This taught us an important lesson: it might be time to bring on a dedicated dispositions specialist to ensure we maximize our spreads on every deal.

I more so meant if there are people you could hire to do a pre-inspection to ensure you pass on the first go!

Where do I start;  how do I find the right properties; what to look out for; what outlets do you use to ensure you don't pay too much for a property; what strategies should people in their mid-40's use to maximize the probability of success and profitability; etc., etc., etc...

Don’t forget this can’t be done in Las Vegas proper.

My Hard Money Lenders held the money in escrow and would not release the funds until the work was done, inspected, and they knew it was properly done. 

Always make sure to have written agreements in place to ensure consistency and avoid misunderstandings.Good luck!

Also now clear that the lender is not doing their proper due diligence or even reading what we are giving them.  

The data is readily available, and I will provide the data source and its relevance.To ensure we're on the same page, the goal of real estate investing is financial freedom.

For example, certain states like CA and MA have "claw-back" provisions, some states have withholding requirements, PA has some funky 1031 exchange laws, etc.Work with a rockstar QI (like @Dave Foster) and a real-estate-savvy tax professional to ensure you don't fall into any traps.