I started out with little to nothing when I was in the Army and building up properties slowly. 

Every great multifamily investor I’ve spoken with emphasizes this skill, and I see why.On the other hand, underwriting can be time-consuming and prone to human error.

Every dollar  matters when you're starting out. 

I appreciate your first hand experience with them as there are so many scams out there.

On the other hand, several states require a license to make business-purpose loans.

I would start there.The Rock may have something to say about that.... 

STRs can bring great returns but are higher risk and more hands-on, like small-cap stocks, while long-term rentals are stable and predictable, like large-cap investments.

Making money in real estate requires experience and starting with no or little money makes you study harder.As much as most of us probably wished for it, getting started with a lot of money in your pocket is a recipe for disaster: the temptation is to make the deal work by throwing money at it.If you want to go into real estate go with a syndicator with a good track record.

I don’t want to just cut cost though I want to understand what I’m doing and be super hands on.

If you think you'll hand it off to your PM to run and take the great amount of passive income as your great reward, there is so much more to it.