The Syndication as LP making less returns is what i expected as well, when you say you can scale more with LP that sounds interesting I would like to learn more about that.

Am a little gun shy but would love to start with one property to help me learn on a smaller scale.

This is an upper scale rental so I want it to look nice.

I'm going to scale back and let the war chest build up.

I'll send you a PM with my contact info.Regarding your situation of more SFR's or MFR's, my vote is for multi's just for the greater ability to scale and grow. 

@John Thedford  I could write a book on this subjecthowever as it relates to the scale a single investor lending their own money is doing this at.It really is state specific.. there are 18 states that require licensure.. so for the other states were you can do this without a license.the three C's of lending are a good rule of thumbCharacter of borrower  Capacity of Borrower and the Collateral.for someone like you John who is an active RE agent checking out the collateral should be pretty simple... you have access to MLS and or know your values.Character is a huge one in my mind if your dealing with people you don't know I would suggest you vette them just like your tenants..

I also agree with @Patti Robertson get as much scale (units) as you an to protect you from vacancies and give you some extra cashflow.

That said, the desire to scale the business has led me to this "unbundled" or "a-la-carte" model which leverages the existing business infrastructure I have in place and also caters to the evolving consumer/investor demands which now include a more active DIY approach to real estate investing.

It will also flatten  wages at the low end of the pay scale.

Also the more you scale the more important you become to managers and get better pricing.The hardest part is finding people you can trust.