The problem is real estate isn't really the step by step everyone wants it to be.  

I've put alot of time and effort into real estate and ready to take the next step...ACTION!

Are you reading books, analyzing properties, or taking other steps to educate yourself? 

Apologies to @Eli Rollins, yes, that was what I initially thought here, but since I realized it was a joke thread, I just wrote a quote from Little Miss Sunshine  and went on.Then Eli responded, and I stepped on my crank trying to talk about a mostly data-driven opinion I've spent some thing thinking about for some time now, given my personal and family history.

Any practical thoughts, suggestions, or methods to use? 

I’ve also heard of seeing prices for similar homes that have sold in the area, but I also feel that method can be misleading.

So it is indeed more complex that I had thought.That being said, my original idea of establishing a general partnership as a estate planning method is not that attractive anymore.

It takes the entire group stepping up, making calls and voting if they can.So join and support your local REIA group, where ever you invest in the country. 

In order to do that without having access to huge sums of cash I had to use some more creative methods.

Get familiar with the process and follow the steps completely.