So, choose your path wisely.The reality that GC1 has created needs to be dealt with.

To make the best choice, carefully calculate the financial implications, align with your long-term goals, research the market for larger buildings, and seek advice from a tax professional to navigate potential tax impacts.

For any new acquisitions though you’ll likely want to buy in a new LLC just to create some separation between your personal liability and your rental properties. 

If he has legitimate self employment activity he may be eligible to create a solo 401(k) which is superior in many ways to sdira.  

Talk about your investment strategies and find out what financing choices are available for the South Bend market.Always remember to take the initiative to reach out, show up to events frequently, and develop connections gradually.

At 4% interest, I bought investment properties which easily met a DSCR of 1 or greater, even when using the market rental value which was always less than the actual rent I receive from my tenants' federal housing choice vouchers (HCV).

What I wrote above does not create an attorney/client relationship between us.

What would be the better choice on doing a flip or a rehab for a rental a heloc or hard money loan?

Local Facebook groups of investors or subreddits can also be huge.2) Attend local meetups and REIA meetings, these can be great to meet potential clients and other contacts to source deals3) Friends and family CAN work but you should try this: set up a class on real estate investing, have yourself and other folks speak about how to get started and Invite every single person you know and if they're not interested, no problem, ask them if they know anyone that can benefit from that4) Longer term, but you can create content on available delas for Inst and TikTok, Real Estate investing is a hot topic and not many folks use those video platforms to show people real deals and how to get started.Best of luck.

I was thinking that I would want to build a team in a market before I buy anything, so I wanted to evaluate 2-3 property managers ahead of time, to find the best fit.I have not thought of the tire-kicker perception it might create, so I will have to consider ways to mitigate that.Thanks for the tip!