Direct mail and cold calling are our two main methods. 

With the current tax proposals, if you purchased a property with a large loan the interest may not all be deductible however renting is one of the worst things you can do from a tax perspective.Given the information you have posted and past experience I suspect that your best bet would be to structure a 1031 exchange on your property with the greatest appreciation, exchange it for a property that you want to live in, and move in after a period of time. 

If structured properly, between the assist and commission being the agent for myself, I would be paying the same or maybe even less to acquire the 300k property than I would the 100k property.

There are a few structuring options that may benefit you.

I just got done sitting down with him and here are my concearns.There is a 15% deal structuring fee.

I’ll start with your method of analyzing deals.

I talked to someone from Inc Authority who told me that the best way to structure a real estate investment business is to form an irrevocable trust at the top level.

I have drawings from structural engineer.

Now you've got the SEC on your back...You need to get your business structure, paperwork and processes looked at carefully by a good real estate and business attorney... and get ahead of this.. before you're paying big fee's on defense attorneys.However, be careful when you market your deal to an end buyer or investor.

No matter the loan structure, just started out can be tricky, regardless of how much research you've done.