As I'm new to this domain, I would to hire a consultant to perform some zoning and other due diligence activities.

This is when you hire a staging professional or staging company to come in, make recommendations, and do the work for you.

If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general.

Quote from @Tyler Kesling: Not to drag this thread out indefinitely but if I were to take your advice and start small, is it the dumbest thing to 1) Hire a PM on a single fourplex and 2) Do a HELOC into a DSCR?

If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general.

Implement documented repeatable processes to reduce errors and improve service levels.By being efficient, and cutting some of your costs you can hire better talent with the leftover cash. 

On the other hand, I feel one of the main advantages of passive investments (via syndication/crowdfunding) is that I can hire a manager who has years more experience than I can ever hope to obtain myself.

If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general.

-> Besides doing your market research, i strongly advise that before any purchase or offer, that you hire professionals to help you in the process.

Then she quit saying that I didn’t respect her and I had to scramble to hire someone else.