The collateral is so so and some have preferences such as certain asset classes they will invest in, but generally speaking, you can obtain an equity deal with very little skin in the game. 

What tools or strategies are you using to stay ahead of the game?

Yes, the more units you go up, generally the less players in the game so there is some advantage in purchase competition as you go up, but also more management scale and cap ex for someone who is new.3.

The rental game is funny in that you want to responsible enough to always make rent, but not successful enough to easily afford buying a house.

If you have ever played the Cash Flow Game, you are pretty much the poster child character in the game for a high-income investor.

I assume if one wanted to 1031 for "rinse and repeat" you'd also be game for that as well. 

Dont waste your time game-planning.

Investors only receive a share of the income you actually generate, you will not owe a fixed repayment block.Difference here is that this model is for owners who either don’t want to take on more debt, can’t qualify for the financing they need, or have little time.At best, this is word games. 

My experience has been that purchase transactions where the buyer has no or little skin on the game have a default rate many times that of buyers who place a significant down payment into the deal.  

One tip is to start looking into meetups to connect with investors / others in the REI game (in person/online).