I'm sure it's most likely frowned upon but on the smaller scale apartment buildings, during due diligence has anyone ever tried speaking with tenants to uncover any existing conditions or deferred maintenance problems they may be facing? 

As your business grows, you can seek out a CPA with real estate expertise to help you scale.

If you are trying to scale as a flipper (nothing to do with rentals) then that is the ONLY formula you can use.

As per the IRS code you must use all the funds on your next purchase, either scale up or like same value.

I got kicked out of college for letting my GPA drop down to 1.5 form a 3.5 (4.0 scale).

If you are looking to scale your portfolio, it would make sense to use leverage and increase your return on equity.

That way you can scale.

Looking for advice on what my next step should be and how to expand my real estate portfolio. Bought my first house (primary residence) in Denver, May of 2021, 3bd x 1 bath, for $525k with $85k down at an interest ra...

That's because cashflow is what can help you scale when you are starting out, and it's also what saves your butt during tough economic times. 

Such hard truth....I have seen many people discouraged because they can't scale as quickly as they think everyone else does or they think others had it easy.