I personally like to buy in towns/neighborhoods in which no new builds are possible within 10 miles because all the land is developed.

Fix-and-flips and new builds are always exciting!

Find someone in the neighborhood of your building to help you out.

For path #2, you mean purchase & renovate a 3-5 unit building right?

This lets both parties separate rather than dragging out the relationship.

It is about creating a balance between being open to new tenants and protecting your property interests diligently.By fostering a more secure leasing process, you can ensure that your properties remain profitable and that your relationships with genuine tenants are based on trust and reliability.

But that extra $7200/year will go a long way in paying down your loan faster, build up another downpayment fund, pay off other debt, etc. 

Build on both?

I would focus on being an agent and building that business.

We just acquired an existing duplex in Fort Lauderdale and planning on tearing it down and build a new duplex instead.