Lots of good advice above- I think an active, professional network of pros that know and trust each other is essential.

Having a safe forum for LPs the share their experiences is needed.Cheryl  In EVERY business there are two kinds of market participants; the people/companies in it for the long haul, through both good and not so good economic times, consisting of EXPERIENCED, PROFESSIONALS whose careers are dedicated to and dependent on fulfilling the needs of their clients/customers.The other type of participant are in the particular business because it’s OPPORTUNISTIC for them to be in it AT THE TIME.  

Readers are advised to seek professional advice.

In 2017, we want to try to qualify my husband as a Real Estate Professional.

And while someone paying a professional to do a detailed and relatively costly search may be able to ascertain your wealth status; a superficial search would probably leave the potential plaintiff believing you lacked the assets to make a lawsuit worthwhile. 

Leverage local professionals like real estate agents, property managers, local lenders, and contractors.

I want the best professional who can save me the most money, someone who’s real and honest and doesn’t use too many big words.

Hard to scale on these larger deals Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

This is actually one of the main reasons many agents and investors may not like them generally speaking (they are often not serious professionals with a proven track record of success, the vast majority are struggling to find their first deal and are time-wasters to interact with).   

In addition to medical professionals, we also have college/grad students.