Otherwise, you won't have the extra funds necessary to cover the rising costs of goods and services in the future.What causes rents (and prices) to increase?

It sounds like there are five strategies, and the first one is essentially inserting yourself into a deal by providing the funds for an earnest money deposit for someone like a wholesaler.

I've never needed to do it and Florida may be different, but one party opens the escrow account, terms are agreed upon by both parties, funds are deposited, and escrows sends you the agreed upon amount every month. 

The fund was advertised as a boring "preferred equity" fund that pays 10% a year (or something along those lines).  

The bank will sometimes take the excess funds (difference between redemption amount and winning bid) as a immediate cash benefit on their books and write off the loan.  

Use your funds to convert the 2-bedroom units into 3-bedrooms to boost rental income.

and investing in CDs or investing in a stock index fund or even using the money to buy a good cash flowing rental.

You may qualify for a cash-out refinance, which could help you get funds for necessary repairs while locking in a better rate.

It's about teamwork, mutual understanding, and planning for the future together. 

From there, I was able to keep rolling my funds back into projects and keep increasing the margins.