Some of these strategies (though not all, and possibly not the most profitable) are the subject of constant discussion on BP. 

Would you buy a property where you have to give half the profits away for life? 

Any amount you purchase less than you sell, or any amount of cash you take out is considered to be profit. 

What about having to break even, or even feed the property every month $200 for those same 36 months, but at sale, could net a $75K-$100K profit?

Sharing leases, profit and loss sure but no inspection. 

I was profiting over $20k annually.

Partnering with investors to share profits is another avenue to increase capital.

Congratulationswhat you’ve found that both the INVESTMENT side of real estate, and theBUSINESS side are very competitive; therefore profit margins are compressed, so those “home runs” people like to bragg about are actually quite rare.  

If you net a $300,000 profit from the sale of your current you could in theory invest in a $1.5MM property.

@Matthew Cook I would NOT pay for the renovations unless I was on title or had a very formal contract written about the split of profits.