The trick is to find an honest contractor or project manager. assessment can be easy tho, hire 3 separate inspectors, costly but you need to secure that investment. three bids for contractors also needs to be in place. i have done some consultancy work for a commercial company as construction manager for renovating their 3 properties while they are searching for hired physical project manager. not that easy, not that hard.

Yes, I know that is not exactly how rent is calculated, but the point is that once you get past a rental property or two, conventional financing is no longer an option due to the trick in the math.

@Christopher NemlichIMHO, a simple LLC (maybe TIC) would do the trick.

@Jake Thornton If you could refi, that would help (the loan amount will be the trick).

The trick with co-wholesaling that I found out is just really gauging  the experience level of the person you're working with.  

I used it a few years back for several years and it did the trick and best of all it was super cost efficient.

Simply put, there is no one simple trick that'll do it.

I've always kind of dreamed of owning property and househacking it.The only thing is, I did spend 2020 rearranging my life and adjusting it with all the new tricks I learned with books and podcasts, and I do not believe I could have any better deal than I currently have for living in Los Angeles. 

If you think a hand written letter does the trick, go for it.

Otherwise, they're just a one trick pony, and the market has left them in the dust.It's apparent that it's a little harder to find deals now.