Trying to go to companies directly is rarely going to be your best bet. 

I'm betting your numbers look like mine, and CapEx saving is eating up a lot of it.

Focus on getting into that first deal—everything else can fall into place after.Best of luck with your investing journey!

Does anyone have any advice as I am just starting out on my real estate investment journey.

I'm just laughing so hard right now - I needed that after crying about my real estate journey so far. 

You're entering into a phase of the investment journey where you want to strike a balance between proper due diligence and avoiding last minute analysis paralysis.

When this happens the fancy/complicated entity structure is useless protection-wise.Lots of attorneys out there who will sell you a $10k+ entity structure that doesn't mesh with your operations as you scale your portfolio and team.Also, ensure your REI-savvy tax pro and your REI-savvy attorney link up during the entity structure creation process so things are optimal on all sides.Just something to keep in mind as you're beginning this journey.

Doing this like a brrrr I see as the best bet, for example my property does still have room for improvement adding a bedroom and bath to the primary structure and then the ADU.

We hadn’t considered the idea of a balloon when starting our investing journey and we’re happy to buy, hold, rent, and let it appreciate while we pay down the 30 year mortgage.

Your best bet is when you renew the lease to add in a clause regarding plumbing repairs related to negligence of the tenant.