As someone who doesn't have a massive sphere in their market, best specific advice for networking to grow that sphere quickly?

Its the warren buffet investing model, buy when everyone is selling, and sell when everyone is buying.

Now if you are using a loan, well I believe you do not have any other option, So, 5- 40 units is a MASSIVE difference.

Every day my team and I are making massive progress in REI and I already have the freedom to travel back and forth anytime I want.  

Search is your friend, and there are a massive number of resources here on BP.

Arbitrage and seller financing, those 2 actions alone afford massive speed to scale. 

I agree though, an individual condo unit purchase in an old building without the ability to do or understand your due diligence adequately is a massive risk.

I am doing this completely remotely, which has been a massive pain/lesson learned (topic for another day).I signed a very high-level agreement (i.e. expectations simply say "drywall and paint") with him for drywall and paint work at my home for a total of $10KI have paid $5K as a down payment as well as ~$2K in materials over time, as neededThere have been multiple break-in's in the home, and he has done me favors of working with the police, and boarding things up.

PCP has nearly 6,000 homes, boasting a massive community of both residents and STRs.

One downside I see to this strategy from a tax perspective: You are unable to take advantage of the STR loophole which is a massive offset of your tax liability for many folks.