Hey @Dalton Foote - I highly suggest  using a renovation loan and house hacking a multi-family if that is possible with your current life circumstances.The 203k and homestyle renovation loans are just amazing products and drastically help you reduce your risk, in my opinion, because you are able to leverage the cost of the entire renovation with such a low down payment loan.We work with a lot of clients who use these products in Chicago, and no matter what, in the long term, they gain great equity.If you aren't able to house hack - the process is essentially the same, but just with more money down with hard money or conventional construction loan.

Also, if you have construction experience, leverage that when talking to investors.

i'm currently trying to automate and/or streamline as much administration as possible in effort to get better organized.

A $1700-2000/month rent doesn't get you cash-flow on a fully leverages (after refi) $240k property. 3.

I’d love advice on leveraging my existing assets, navigating seller finance deals, or other tips for scaling effectively.

Do you have other assets you can leverage (like a home equity loan) for that amount?

By facilitating the closing process and leveraging a strategic marketing approach, we increased the property’s visibility and quickly found a buyer.

This way you can utilize the leverage if you plan to scale up in the future.

As I see it, the only ways that real estate pays you well in the first 3-5 years is low to no leverage or a strategy that requires more work (short term rental, mid term rental, rent by the room, etc.).  

I am looking for any recommendations on how to properly scale this idea over the first few years conservatively and not wanting to over use leverage and debt by starting small in duplex and being open to triple/quadplex in the future if the right opportunity presents itself.