New realtors, new realty companies, new PMs aren't going to have those established relationships and *no* PMs give up the names of their people to anyone else because getting good people is difficult. 

Leverage the Power of LLCsEstablishing a Limited Liability Company (LLC) for your real estate investments can offer both legal protection and tax benefits.

I've had a long career in community development and have a lot of bank contacts that would likely be interested in investing, but I'd need to prove the concept first with an initial fund (there are also a lot of other community development tools that could be leveraged to maximize and scale this).

I have learned a lot over the last ~6 months about furnishing a property, managing/pricing a rental, understanding the ins and outs of Airbnb/Furnished Finder, and analyzing real estate investments generally.My business idea is to use that knowledge and start a company that does the following:-Furnishes properties for investors who want to turn their LTR into a MTR/STR, new homebuyers who want to house hack, or just any investor needing a rental furnished.

Whatever you do, leverage smartly—DSCR loans can help you buy more without draining your cash, and depreciation will handle your tax burden for 2024.

@Jeff BatemanBigger Pockets is a great place to find a real estate tax accountant.A good real estate accountant can save you thousands of dollars by leveraging entity selection and formation, tax deductions, cost segregations, bonus depreciation and tax planning.I recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation, business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.You may want to consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.I would also recommend looking for a accountant willing to work with you throughout the year.

It's stopping me from scaling to a much larger portfolio leveraged versus a smaller paid off portfolio.  

You can also usually count on rents increasing enough in around 5 years, so that you do cashflow.Of course you have to watch out for over-leveraging and going bust!

Assuming that they aren't simply lucky in market timing, excessive in leverage, or excessively risky, why do you think that some companies and leaders ARE able to duplicate the ROI driving expertise and/or improve personal-business productivity in a way that allows scalability?

You've earned $132,000 more by splitting your money and leveraging it.There are other benefits to leveraged homes.