Quote from @Stuart Udis: As I am sure is the case with many investors, my residential and commercial leases continue to evolve.

What I would tell you is that as we built our portfolio we continued working our full time corporate (cubicle) jobs until we had 20 units (self-managing them along the way).

You can do this without bankruptcy and if you continue those new habits you can move on to buying an investment.

As you discover opportunities, continue looking for the longer play!

I'll continue doing my diligence, using your posts as another guidepoint. 

Hindsight Critique•Continue to build relationships to increase deal flow•Property manager (Mercer Hughes) is critical to completing renovations and quick tenant placement•Continue to build relationships with private lenders and personal investors•Have cash available to make quick competitive offersDid you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

With a 40% expense ratio, the DSCR is approximately 1.21Hindsight Critique•Continue to build relationships to increase deal flow•Property manager (Mercer Hughes) is critical to completing renovations and quick tenant placement•Continue to build relationships with private lenders and personal investors•Have cash available to make quick competitive offers

I recommend continuing to learn pros and cons of each and determine which paths (I pluralize it as you should diversify even across real estate).

From my own personal experience and from others I think most reach the "tipping point" from self managing to using a PM somewhere between 5-15  units, especially if you have a W2 and want to continue to scale. 

Places like Texas where you’re at will likely continue to face significant insurance increases given more weather related events which makes it challenging To pencil, but if you have good population growth, things should even out.