My guess is that your CPA's comment was colored by the fact that he assumed you would be buying a turn key property (which are trading at a premium right now). 

The ones that were diligent to wait (and had been for 5 hours before they were scheduled to open trading, got lucky and got their paper. 

You can get conventional financing on those and build valuable skills then go after larger buildings as you grow.- Read the ABC's of Real Estate Investing by Ken McElroy- Find a mentor that has done multiple deals and is willing to help you evaluate deals that you come across.Best of luck in your journey!

Next house, I am going to use all professional trades for everything to get through faster.

@Floyd Ferjuste In the here and now the buying opportunities are in the publicly traded names.

This is going to present more liability for you than a licensed person would, but at the end of the day it will depend a lot on what trade you are talking about. 

I'm out of state and my Contractor is tied up for a couple of months (slowing now with Covid19)... however, I could recommend a couple trades if you are willing to manage each (no general)Good luck!

If your rentals rise to the level of a trade or business per IRC 162 then you likely qualify without it. 

@Nicholas SuazoMany factors go into mortgage rates, and the federal funds rate isnt even in the top 10 things.Mortgage backed security bonds trading is a large thing, which arnt trading at lower rates.

Think E*Trade but with different paperwork so as to be able to document the individual transactions that occur off-exchange in alternative assets like real estate.