I have no plans on going FT, and may ratchet down my work even less in the future.

@Mathios Yonan okay Mat, I'll assist you in compiling a different point of view into your already formulated and ongoing research: Rising inflation costs: This is usually a good thing in regards to real estate and those that ALREADY own real estate because they, will likely see an increase in their property value and in turn their net worth.

- What are the upfront and ongoing costs associated with setting up and maintaining an LLC?

So go back to the whys and count on going sideways on price. 

Again, back to that ongoing conversation you have with the listing agent.

@Brandon Penn hey Brandon would like to chat with you , am looking in philly pa at the moment and be for I jump on any deals maybe you can guide me on going commercial instead of residential, if you can inbox me that would be great so we can talk some numbers , if you have that time thanks again for sharing your knowledge !

I'd also love to hear if anyone has more concrete numbers (esp in the Seattle, WA market) around the ongoing costs that I'd be looking at as an agent.

Can someone living or investing in the area give some insight on the current ongoings there?

Hi Tim,Here are the main difference between active investing (i.e. buying 8-12 units on your own) and passive investing (i.e. investing in an apartment syndication)Control: you have no control as a passive investor and all of the control as an active investorTime commitment: the ongoing time commitment for active is much higher than for passiveRisk: you are exposed to less risk as a passive investorExperience: you will gain much more experience as a active investorUpside potential: since you control 100% of the deal, there is more upside with active investingYou'll have a better chance of replacing your day job income as an active investor, unless you have six figures sitting in your bank account that you can passively invest.Raising money for your own syndication is also an option, but as @Ben Leybovich said, it will be difficult to go from zero real estate experience to raising money to buy a deal. 

All I can say is that in my experience, it has been well worth the minimal study hours and ongoing fees