Now, these outfits hire lots of influencers and affiliates, with no expertise, no financial background, and apparently limited ethics, to put it kindly.

The best investors use both—leveraging technology to streamline the process while relying on their expertise to identify the nuances that software might miss.

However, there's an obvious loophole to the claim because if you buy a house for 999K and then the value goes over 1 million then technically you're one of the 90% that just became a millionaire through real estate :) REIT investing is a much less active way of investing into the 11 major real estate sub-sectors, in the US we have 274 listed REITs on the major exchanges of NYSE and NASDAQ, and about 75-80 of them are not equity REITs but rather mortgage REITs, which I like to park cash in when 10yr yields are trending down to give me capital appreciation plus 14-15% dividend yields. check out alreits | Global REIT Researchto do more thorough individual research.

My initial plan had been to do something like Rent-to-Retirement or REI Nation- assuming that I'd be leaving money on the table to pay for their expertise, but hoping that I would learn through the process and develop the confidence to strike out on my own later. 

I would look at buying 5 properties using loans that have some sort of value add aspect in a market that I believe will appreciate at the minimum of the historic national average.This may be a rather boring and unflashy answer but I believe it would be the best money spent in my current knowledge and expertise.  

I agree with your advice on specializing in a particular asset class, and I’m committed to refining my expertise in this area before expanding further.

This will be the perfect storm for another crypto bull run.If you’re still playing by the old rules—W-2 income, stock market investments, and zero tax strategy—you’re gonna get left behind.Part 3: The Moves I’m Making Right Now (7:00 - 10:00)Here’s what I’m doing right now to prepare:1️⃣ Stacking up capital for real estate deals BEFORE policies shift.2️⃣ Building a bigger investor network—because when the floodgates open, I want to be ready.3️⃣ Structuring my business entities to take full advantage of tax benefits.4️⃣ Focusing on industrial real estate—because if Trump brings back U.S. manufacturing, that’s where the gold rush will be.5️⃣ Using my legal and investment expertise to help investors navigate and WIN in this new economy.6️⃣ Investing in bitcoin and crypto as Trump is pro-crypto and creating massive tax shelters and deregulating.This is not about politics.

It justifies the property selling for greater than just market appreciationI do owner builder rehabs but sometimes use contractors for large work scope or scope beyond expertise.  

If they have a stronger marketing plan and better local expertise, it could be a smart switch.Hope this helps!

Strategy Selection – With your interest in STRs, multifamily, and fix & flips, consider focusing on one strategy first to build expertise before branching out.