The entire agent model would perish because most of the time off-market listings are new leads that need to be prepared before hitting the market.

Employment Growth Outpacing Housing SupplyBuffalo leads the nation in the ratio of new jobs to new homes permitted.

Those 2 will generate plenty of bookings if you have a great place and priced right.

AI is not some magical, all-knowing miracle that can pull leads out of thin air.AI is simply a faster, more hands-off way to find the same low-quality leads you get from DMM, cold calling, and SMS marketing.You’re not improving lead quality—you’re just finding bad leads faster.

. - if I use my cash, the investment needs to generate > 5%.

You can learn to do this independently or get a rockstar REALTOR to lead the way.

I’m no longer house hacking, and all three units are rented out, generating a total of $8,200/month in rental income.

The biggest question you need to ask yourself is if you are doing this to afford a property you otherwise couldn’t afford or to save money period, that will lead to very different conclusions about where/if to buy. 

I’m also glad the FCC is cracking down on robocalls for lead generation; it forces people to commit to real prospecting instead of cutting corners.Over the years, I’ve run a solid brokerage team, training agents and now I help people get into wholesaling.

What you have described sounds like a real estate  race to the bottom and you will be in the lead .