If you truly enjoy property management, it might be for you, regardless of financial consideration.If evaluating the question purely from a financial standpoint, it comes down to the value of your time. 

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.

@Jay Fayz for SFR (1-4 family) Classifications are mostly opinion-based.Not aware of anyone tracking eviction rates, except Evictions Lab nonprofit that doesn't like landlords.Here's some info that might helpt:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

Sounds like they are dumping a bad 1031 property into a REIT and spreading the financial burden upon existing REIT members. 

Leverage the CPA path: Your auditing and financial background will give you an edge when scaling.

It's been great, but I'm not able to financially benefit from any of that money.

A good tax 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 business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.I would also recommend looking for a accountant willing to work with you throughout the year.

A tip would be knowing The number of doors you qualify for from a lender, And then looking at financial statements from places a little smaller and a little bigger.

HELOCs are not available because they are residential loans guaranteed by individuals and what you seek is a type of commercial loan or credit line which are available to seasoned companies with proven financial track record.

Thank you Eric.In addition to the rental properties, my wife and I have a paid off house, paid off car, and about $1.4m in retirement accounts, brokerages, and savings.We live in a HCOL area and our expenses are $9.5k per month even though we live pretty modestly.I set out initially to have real estate pay for at least some of my expenses in order to give me more freedom and financial security.Is your wife quitting too?