You don't get the depreciation , the return is minimal 4-6 % , still better than banks , but the money is tied up for years ,  you can't leverage it or refinance for another deal whenever you need .

The target property almost definitely has to be a value add minimally distressed property that can be refinanced after repairs, or just a fix and flip.

You can learn to do assignments, for example, far from your neighborhood which pose no risk and have minimal capital requirements.

Even thought the split will be very minimal (35-50% of each transaction, desk fees possible, etc.).

Tax accountants I've worked with, work well on a transactional basis - you decide the investment strategy across different assets, and if that means $X towards ABC real estate, they'll advise how to minimize tax impact.

So that was a waste of time since we only signed a few leases - 4 I think - 30-60 days each.

I wouldn’t waste my money.

But I would like to start smart and limit wastes of time.

This is exactly why I have all my sellers force buyers to do inspections right in the beginning - because it really sucks to go all the way through the approval process and have the buyer walk away after over a condition issue that could have been found and negotiated earlier, and now its just too late and everyone involved wasted months of their time for nothing.

Youll make mistakes in the beginning, but if you start small and put the right "team" together (i.e. a good deal finder such as an agent, a lender, a property manager, etc) then youll minimize your risk while learning so much from diving in.