After I learned the basics, I decided to force myself to be successful in real estate by analyzing to the best of my ability tens of deals, and offering what I believed the properties were worth to me.

Basically, I'm trying to find the best/easiest way in with the least money down and the ability to build a system for growth.My situation: I run an online marketing company and our lease is expiring in a month.My initial thoughts (these might be dumb because I don't even know if it's allowed or if it makes sense) -> 1)Buy through my current company using an SBA Loan 504 loan.

Isn't this kind of like the ability to change channels when you don't like the show on TV?

Private lenders are an abundant source of funding, but there's no bricks-and-mortar establishment, no standard process other than SEC regulations, just your own ability to build relationships - a key skill for an agent / broker.My $0.02 ...

I don't know how it would be legal because it sounds similar to brokering, the investor has a purchase contract with ability to assign to someone and the contract includes a phrase allowing them to list on MLS.

But I am seeing you are looking to raise capital for 50 rental properties so I assume you do not believe it will hinder your ability to raise capital?

@Mike Landry, Except for the few inheritors of wealth just about everyone through history worked (you'd call it a W2 job now) for a living and built wealth by saving (spending less than they made) and slowly building their ability to invest (whether farm land in the agrarian age, manufacturing and commodities in the industrial age, or information proprietaries in the information age).  

Agents can legally advertise the properties and probably have the ability to give the property 100x the exposure than most unlicensed brokers.

But reading the FHA guidelines, it seems they have the ability to use appraised rental values to help qualify on a vacant property.

With you getting paid on the 15th may help with your own cash flow if you have a bill or two that comes due in the middle of the month.