I have a tax firm that specializes in working with real estate professionals/investors.

Readers should seek professional advice.

Hiring a lawyer sounds expensive, but it is way cheaper than hiring a amateur (in this case yourself) who costs you money and provides no results (and then you need to hire a professional anyway).My personal philosophy is to "do it right, or do it twice" and its way cheaper to do it right once. 

That may not apply to you, as a financial professional, but I thought I would share the story.Obiously you could re-lever your portfolio to bring the ROE back up, but then you have to place those borrowed funds somewhere that nets a high enough return that the portfolio is ahead, given the drag of the interest and any transaction fees.    

My professional background is data science / analytics, which means analyzing cash flows will probably come more naturally than building relationships, which apparently, is how one finds deals worth making.Are there meetups in these areas I should attend (digitally at first, presumably)? 

If you think like those gurus or think like those gurus, then you can kick rocks pretty much.Also put aside some money for appraisals, because if you don't do anything correct with a multitude of professionals, you can get sued.Plus these gurus who promise to jv on deals will screw you over.These gurus are pathological liars that need someone to publicly expose them face to face! 

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

You could rent to young professionals or to families.

Readers should seek professional advice.

Are they being professionally managed or DIY managed?