If you have a multi-family property, then you have to figure out how to make the tenants share the responsibility or you hire someone to handle it for them.You have to consider insulation, maintenance of weather stripping on doors and windows, servicing the boiler/furnace, winterizing sprinkler systems, disconnecting garden hoses from hose bibs, and much more.It's very risky to manage rentals from a distance.

What if I am a part-time agent to qualify for the REP status via mainly RE agent activities (helping others in buying/selling houses) and then also have a couple of investment properties on the side that I manage myself to attain passive loss from those properties (via depreciation)? 

I have posted in the past and received overwhelming feedback that I should hire a property management company.

But to each their own. when I had rental properties I paid a property manager.

This approach allowed us to move quickly and efficiently, ensuring the project stayed on track.

When exploring financing strategies for your first BRRRR project, especially with an owned property, start by researching reputable private or hard money lenders who specialize in rehab financing (like us :)).

At the same time you can go to the local building departments and find the plans for the projects and get the GC info from that as well as the architect.

Plus 12 units is a much larger project than 3 units.

This approach allowed us to move quickly and efficiently, ensuring the project stayed on track.

Heloc is around 8.5% interest and deals im looking at are 15% coc self managed, theres a bit of spread.