Is the individual you meet the BD salesman who passes you off to some inexperienced PM that just started working there or are they involved in the day to day?

CPI measures general inflation for consumers for major individual expenses such as food, gas, shelter, and other basics.

I contacted a broker about two mixed commercial/residential units being sold individually out of a portfolio of 15 properties.

Not before that long it could become more interesting for you than for us here.Now, for us building a portfolio of rentals (and btw also an option for Americans), we avoid this by not doing it as an individual but with a company (SL) and changing it to company tax (first two years 15% and after this 25%) and creatively deduct way more costs.It is true though that this is a good way if your strategy is to reinvest your money time by time building something bigger/passing it along to kids/relatives etc, because when you want to take money out of your company you would need to pay dividend tax or in the form as a salary.   

The current flavor in the Denver metro area for up-zoning on individual properties is is "NO!"

When you need articles of incorporation or something more specific later, you can get an attorney to draw those up, but for most people on here, they are just trying to get it open and get an EIN.

They tell me it’s so easy to show individuals are behind them and can sue you if they wanted to.

At minimal the personal loan would be incorporated into your debt to income ratio when you apply for the financing on the purchase if you were trying to qualify on a full documentation loan. 

I've noticed the forums provide a wealth of knowledge from individuals investing in a wide variety of strategies and feel this is the best place to start.

You should also network and find top-producing agents and real estate individuals to learn from.