What I mean by this is the entire game of REI has now vaulted into the top 10-20% of W2 folks, but really the top 5% mainly the top 1-3%.

Randy  Thank you for sharing such valuable information—utilizing RentecDirect.com for streamlined tenant management and having go-to vendors for efficiency sounds like a game-changer.

Rel estate investing is a long term game.

You can hire an agent just to show and be a body if they are willing, While its not perfect, ChatGPT is a great tool to ask initial questions and get a launching pad (always verify what it tells you)  - @Drew Sygit - Good point about getting someone to help you with screening if they dont have any "skin in the game" so to speak.

What follows will probably sound somewhat pessimistic - but I put it out there for your consideration...Understand that your journey will be a long one, as real estate is usually not a get rich quick game.  

-The niche, boutique brokerage is a great target because they are generally slammed with more business than they know what to do with, they generally are still using fax machines and rotary dialers, (i'm only half joking I still see @aol emails all over costar to this day) so it leaves ample opportunity with anyone that can use an crm a chance to add real value and grow the business in a measurable way.- These tend to be "assassin" type shops who are small teams of pretty elite operators, and they aren't bloated down with BS like the big CRBE's etc of the world, so you'll get exposed to more, you'll get exposed sooner, and they will generally be ideally with a niche industry or product type but will often have a ton of satellite deals they get which will get you cross industry exposure. 

Adam, I am vaguely interested in BRRRR to vacation rental in cottage country to play the long term appreciation game.

And yes, there has been some good appreciation.But you're late to the game in most places (e.g.

If you do these five things consistently and immediately, you will get out of analysis paralysis and into the game much quicker than watching Instagram Reels and TikTok videos.If you are experienced and want to weigh in on which ones here you like and dislike, let's go.

Run an ozone machine between tenants and then let it clear out for a day before showings.