We are seeing about a 40% cash-on-cash return from our real estate investments in our markets with very minimal risk.

Even multi families have super compressed cap rates which while is still a good defensive strategy, really leaves you with minimal margins (I gave up on commercials already since we’re seeing 5-5.5% which is ridiculous). 

I thought about writing a letter to the mayor of Cleveland asking them to please not waste money testing for lead on houses built a decade after lead paint was discontinued/outlawed... but decided not to because that might make me a target for retaliation in the future LOL 

You will likely continue to get about $2K more each year.I minimal amount, about $3K, can be used against W-2 if your W-2 is not too large. 

This will help steer away applicants who would not meet your criteria and would just be a waste of your time.  

Why would I want someone I hardly know calling & wasting the time of one of my contacts?

I like an index fund where you keep a sell order in place at 5-10% below market value to minimize downsize risk.

Plus you don't want to waste your time looking at places you can't afford.

Before you waste your time elsewhere finding a lender, and submitting a contract I'd hammer that piece down first.

Current financing available, construction costs and how to reduce them, appraisal trends, best practices when building on investment properties, rental values, design trends, how to minimize the construction time, ideal target markets, which city's DOB's are helpful and which aren't, preferred vendors, etc.