This is a great forum with very knowledgeable members that will help to guide you in the right direction.I really like the alerts feature that can quickly guide you to current topics that may be of interest: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsThere are a few self-contained guides that you can access here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides

Hello JohnThere is so much potential and i believe real estate is local.An educated and skilled investor can capitalize irregardless of geographySo more to self-education and collaboration

Perfect example of someone who doesn't need to be self-managing.

Grew up in the area and both self-manage at distance as well as have some under local management.

I think if I was self managing, I would default to an LLC, but for this passive/hands off setup, is the protection that much more substantial?  

I am based in New England. 30,000 foot view of my model is  to identify underutilized/value add opportunities and raise capital on a deal-by-deal basis (multi-family, industrial and self-storage).

There has to be a world where there are more options out there for the consumer/buyer to choose the level of service they want (full service, limited service, and self-service) and effectively get back part of the buyer agent commissions as a form of a refund -- or just have more leverage in the transaction because they aren't represented.Thoughts?

Whether I self manage or manage a management company.

I don't care what it takes I will make it happen but I'm going to need some help. if you were (self employed), had a small business that provide a lot of free time .

If you have self-employment activity, you can continue to grow the retirement funds by investing them into real estate and other alternative assets.