This enables me to collect points and travel for free.

We excel under current market conditions – the same ones that have many people panicking, as several of the major players in the real estate fund space are reporting losses, forced sales, foreclosures, and SEC investigations.

I.e. the value-add player that has moved to more core deals, or heavier performance alignments shifting overtime to more fee heavy structures.

I think there may be some players in the space advertising 80% LTV on cash-outs but would proceed with caution if you find someone offering it.

Although this 5.5% to 6% is taxable, it still enables them to offer above the 70% guideline.Experience also plays a key role.

Most of the leads you generate via cold calls, social media, and other marketing efforts won't transact or even meet with you for some time.Baseball players take dozens of swings in batting practice to prep for just 2-3 good pitches they'll see come gametime.

If it's an owner occupied unit sometimes I've found the big players like state farm to be pretty competitive on price. 

Turnkey properties, which require minimal immediate work, enable you to start generating rental income right away.Remember, no amount of education can replace the lessons learned through actual experience.

When an NBA player makes the too little sign after dunking on someone.

As Colin noted above it is hard to compete with the large players in the field.Where we found a better bang for our buck was getting on more channels like Marriott, Booking.com, and about 20 others.