I would recommend finding a local REIA (Real Estate Investment Association).

For those who offer this option, do you feel that the higher occupancy/rental fees make up for the cost associated?

Chad,I strongly suggest you review the By-Laws of the Association to determine what parts of the Building you will own. 

Other background includes holding a real estate license and working as a Associate Agent for Redfin, both for a short period.

If you have a Triplex, for example, and one of the three units is empty well then you at least have the other two units helping pay the mortgage and other bills associated with the property.I don't actually own any rental property myself yet and just closed on my first flip property today.

.+% after lease up fees and other associated misc expense.

Then we found that our state landlord association offered a cheaper option as part of membership, which is very reasonable for a low number of units owned.

@Seth Rouch sorry about that...American Association of Private Lenders = AAPL

However, the fees associated with an Improvement 1031 Exchange (also referred to as a Build-To-Suit 1031 Exchange or Construction 1031 Exchange) would not justify doing so for only $10K. 

While I am younger than Patrick I am on the same track as he is ( I am 45 and currently manage 15 properties while working full time)  And would like to most likely exit completely at age 60 and find something truly passive yet still give me as close to the yield I am generating now (between 14 and 22% annually) I don't expect to get the returns I am making now on my rentals while self managing but at age 60 I hope to scale down my cost of living as well and not require as much, plus I will have 401k as well as social security so my plan is to have multiple streams of income.