I'm not a financial advisor but I don't see how accruing more debt is going to help your situation.

If you have strong income and a busy job, you want to be careful not to bite off more than you can chew.

Is this is a size thing (company just needs to get bigger/have more equity), or perhaps a business structure issue, or should I be looking at different financing sources other than local banks?

Beyond that there are hard money lenders who charge higher rates to take on more risk... but they again start by looking at you, your skill set, and your previous experience in both managing your credit, as well as your real estate investment history.  

Read this:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/1075919-five-...Finally, taxes is not a valid reason to buy real estate.

Because of that you are often restricted from selling one or two of the properties without posting more cash.

As a new agent, you'll be a complete amateur instead of using a seasoned agent who is an expert in negotiations, understands the market, has experience catching problems with properties, etc.A good real estate agent does a lot more than just find houses.

I'm currently in the process of learning as much as I can about real estate investing (watching content, readings books, chatting with folks around me that invest in real estate). 

Hello,I live in California and I am wanting to get into realestate investing.I am interested in Texas Section 8.If you don't mind I would appreciate if I can speak with you to be more comfortable investing. 

The process unsurprisingly ended costing more than I planned or anticipated.