As many investors have discovered doing STR in Florida, there's not much of a moat for your business model.

Also since interest rate is low in US and home is appreciating a lot, you have the advantage, if you purchase with the private institution, then they would gain all the benefit of appreciation since it's more like shared-equity model.

This doesn't cater to the wholesaler model where they are looking for investors who can be quick and decisive.3.

This way you can add value right away while learning from others on the team that have the skills / knowledge you need to have.If you don't have the time, knowledge or interest to be active (think of this as another job really to actively operate your own apartment community), but like apartments you can invest passively with good apartment operators who already have the solid model of success that you want and with intention, learn from them while you are earning. 

It can be a dangerous model because it's your money on the line, so it's imperative you know who you are working with and their track record.

I imagine Washington is just as expensive.Now I am focusing on out of state rentals simply because my business model can't scale and I don't want to be landlord for 100+ college kids sharing rooms lol. 

I should mention I actually started by investing in my partner's flips and liked the model so much I began building a team of my own and we work together to get them rehabbed and sold. 

Personally, I like the model of figuring out a way to earn good money that you can use to support your family and then investing in real estate in order to create wealth. 

The fun answer is "very painfully" but the real answer is focusing on an area, knowing what I want to work with and what I don't, so I don't waste a bunch of time looking at things that don't fit my model.  

I am formulating a strategy to acquire a number of properties in the near future using 1 or 2 REPUTABLE turnkey companies(please hold comments on turnkey model, another discussion for another day).