But it's YOUR money, and Real Estate, to put it mildly, is a contact sport).Month 5: Deals & Network (15-18 hours/week)Submit first offersAttend 2-3 REI events monthlyBuild social media presenceKey Goal: First offer acceptedMonth 6: Scale & Automate (15-20 hours/week)Delegate initial tasksEstablish morning/evening routinesCreate follow-up systemsKey Goal: Sustainable weekly schedule🚫 Common Pitfalls to Avoid:Overcommitting earlyNeglecting W2 responsibilitiesSkipping system creationTaking on too many mentor calls✅ Success Markers:Consistent daily actionsGrowing networkClear systemsNo work conflictsSteady deal flowMaintained energy levels👉 Action Steps This Week:Audit your current scheduleBlock 2 hours dailyChoose your power hour (morning/evening)Set 30-day milestoneGeneral Comment:  obviously not everyone will follow these suggestions.  

Do you believe that automation the way forward for scaling and efficiency?

I found ways to borrow the cash and did 5 cash out refis within 7 years to recycle the equity to scale up.

I like the strategy of having a job with guaranteed income and taking advantage of owner occupied financing to purchase a house hack, staying connected with the REI community in the area, and scaling up from there.

Give The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods a read.

In general you are looking at C grade in some parts of Parkville as well  as Dundalk, Essex, and Middle River. 

This was important for scaling.

The motivation is not necessarily to scale into larger opportunities but rather to achieve better balance and also optimize the performance of the projects and types of projects I currently pursue.I have no shortage of individuals who possess specific skill set who would want exclusive rights to that particular service vertical in return for contributing capital and a partnership interest (construction background and wants to take over all construction duties or someone who is a sales broker and wants to list all of the properties etc.)

You start out, grow and scale in that order. 

As we’re beginning to get a grasp on the scale of the challenges ahead we wanted to highlight a few areas of note and concern that is already influencing the local and national real estate market.