They are without question the prime enablers.

My thesis statement goes as follows: The University of Minnesota should offer a real estate investing degree that enables students to use a student loan to make a down payment on an investment property.

Generally that is found by going off market and not going to a seller that wants to extract every basis point out of a property with a sale price.

@Cassidy Burns within 2 hour drive of the DC area that will enable cash flow (once stabilized) of $500 with 25% equity after refinancing.

I think real estate and apartment showings are increasingly going to be done with showmojo and Rently and other tech-enabled solutions making fewer leasing agents needed.

That volume of investment done right would enable a tremendous ability to give back in so many ways that a "mere" 100 or 500 doors would not.When all the money rests in too few hands, its a bad thing for everyone in my opinion.

If you extract your equity and lever up on all of your properties every year or so, you will eventually be able to do deals that are in the tens of millions.

Anyone can do it to extract that appreciation with just a little effort. 

So I just paid off a 3 unit building I own, and now want to make sure I protect my asset(s) as well as hopefully enable myself to draw out some of the equity in the property for reinvestment in another property.  

You're going to find the same information--the quality of your result is going to be a function of you finding and enabling an excellent team AND location.