And when investing out of state, make sure to work with a local trustworthy professional who will have your best interest and understands your needs. 

Speaking from past experiences vetting the real estate professionals that you chose is paramount.

Professional roommates?”

From my experience, to succeed in multifamily investing, focus on networking through local meetups, online forums, and professional connections, leveraging your CPA skills to analyze deals and optimize deductions.

Readers should seek professional advice. 

No, more specifically deals found through networking with local real estate professionals, finding pocket listings, direct mail, etc.

Networking with real estate professionals is huge, too – it opens up so many opportunities.Would you recommend starting with fix-and-flip projects or something else for someone new to private lending?

I wouldn't worry too much about it, if you have a competent CPA or bookkeeper they should be able to review your books and within minutes have a strong grasp on who gets a 1099 (spoiler alert, not every contractor gets one, I'll be annoyed if I get one since I'm structured as an S corporation) and the amounts to report.1099 filings are usually a loss leader for us, so if you're working with a professional make sure you take advantage of them filing everything for you.

@Chris Johansen There’s a few action items you should take care of to protect yourself from construction related liability.1.The Builder should maintain commercial general liability and professional liability insurance 2.

Most professionals will recommend a separate LLC for every $1 million in assets but I don't think that's necessary.