(As long as PITI is covered by rents and my living expenses are $0 - $300 I am happy)Scalability.

@Luke MarronCool, let me know if you want some tips or templates, just shoot me a message.If you have the money to go to auctions, you definitely have the cash to launch a scalable, efficient, direct mail campaign.You need to have a cashier's check ready for most auctions.

Which one is more scalable?  

One advantage to MFRE is scalability.  

Managing my own rentals isn't scalable.

Not trying to sound fool hardy, but based on the situation I'm currently in and the wealth equation I used (current pay and number of hours worked minus taxes), I'd need to live two lifetimes before I could even fanthom my goal.I strongly feel like a job is not for me, that my heart is screaming to go into business and build a scalable asset.

I also want at least two years of living expenses in savings accounts insured by the FDIC or NCUA.I have $2,500 a month of living expenses (frugal lifestyle), but the formula is scalable to whatever lifestyle you want to engineer for yourself.Some derive their investment income from index funds, others use income property, and others mix and match their investment income from a variety of sources.

It's recession proof, crash proof, the investment cannot be seized by the IRS, or foreclosed on and the returns can be scalable. 

I mean, seems like those low-payment towns might be really cool opportunities for one-off BRRRRs or a small run of them... though since it wouldn't be very scalable in a small town may not be worth the effort... interesting thoughts.  

And they decided if they weren’t certain about the property then at least they were certain that they could trust Clayton as the operator.So what it seems like to me is that he started off with a good idea and scalable model (if the product and the operators had been good) and then it got too big to oversee and things started to fall apart so he tried to dig himself out of a hole by selling more pad products.