I’ve been in similar shoes, starting out small and gradually building up to handling larger projects.

This might lighten the weight of the tree toward your property;  so this might help or not. 

EDIT - 700lb weight limit.

@Unal Baris KancogluTo manage a multi-family property, communicate rent adjustments early, implement gradual increases, set limits, reassess lease terms, highlight improvements, and offer incentives.

Owning the property outright allowed him to address those costs comfortably and even negotiate a better deal on materials since he wasn’t rushing to meet a lenders timeline.Given that you want to learn and scale gradually, cash is a safer way to build your confidnece and investment foundation.

Start small and scale up gradually as you gain experience and capital.Don't discount tax savings from rental while building your portfolio.

In addition to joining the seller to the buyer at the hip for several years/decades when the seller wants a clean break, the properly-discounted, risk-weighted, money to be received by the seller is less than the immediate sale price.

Because they have found it a time suck, a brain drain, stress factory that takes away from everything else in there life including scaling and to time leverage is worth it's weight in gold. 

I am also interested in gradually building my own portfolio.

At March 31, 2024, these modified loans had a weighted average pay rate of 6.95% and a weighted average accrual rate of 1.86%.