Hi David, If building long-term equity and scaling quickly are priorities, then option 2 aligns better for you. 

I got my GC license a couple years ago so I could build houses myself as I was sick of dealing with contractors.I've hired plenty of contractors that were not licensed/insured and it went fine.

Along with your list, consider building a local team in each market to make managing your STR easier.

I’ve done a couple of fix and flips but I’m looking to build a rental portfolio.

Hello Evan, I have helped a number of Bigger Pockets investors build their portfolios in Syracuse and surrounding areas.

If any one can recommend a good REI focused lawyer or a building engineer to do a building survey then please let me know! 

I leveraged my owned land to build my personal home.

If you have the sellers, the buyers will start reaching out - it likely wont work for some of them and then you can ask what they are looking for and build relationships that way.

Depreciate 75% of the building value (excluding land) over 27.5 years for significant tax savings.

Also, I'm a civil engineering expert in Building Information Modeling.