This is a great way to scale as you build your savings post-college. 

I would love to hear about your strategies of which you all used to effectively scale.

Trying to decide what is next as we scale.  

That is just not realistic in this current market.So in my opinion it's important to expose yourself to a large number of deals, so you can develop an intuitive sense of what's reasonable and what's not (and quickly discard the ones that aren't).And it's true that there is no way to 100% protect from fraud (and not just in passive real estate investments but even in public stocks etc.).

Ultimately, I do think S8 requires scale and lots of efficiencies but has its benefits. 

There isn't enough information in here about the current state of the house to be able to advise you, but I would think #3 is a definite no as it seems unnecessary from a cost perspective although that market has scale to accept it.

A renter for a stand alone rowhome is usually a different profile from a large apartment complex renter in my experience.

Starting with a smaller property or a few fix-and-flip projects can help you build equity, gain credibility with lenders, and better understand the process before scaling up.Securing funding for larger projects can be challenging without prior experience, but options like hard money loans might be worth exploring.

Unlike conventional loans that typically require a 12 month seasoning period, DSCR loans have no such requirement, making it much easier for investors to scale their portfolios.I’ve included an article below that outlines how DSCR loans can be utilized in BRRRR strategies.Also, I noticed you’re based in Florida, I’m in Tampa.

I rather start small and scale it Ok, I get it!