My thought is that if the IRS audits me, I'm perfectly capable of showing how "Joe Smith" paid my venmo $1K, I transferred it to my personal account, I also have a lease agreement identifying that $1K and Joe Smith's name.

Any capable person can follow a map. 

You have several options, and the choice depends on your goals and financial capabilities.

Get  a good property management company with rehab capabilities to get numbers that pencil out for success. 

Is this about building residence or a fighting pit???? 

Welcome to the area.We moved here from CA when my father started his fight with cancer in 2020, which he lost in less than a year. 

Basically, I'm planning to self-manage until my portfolio grows beyond my capability to do so.

Plus (*mini Tangent Alert*) is the Federal Reserve even capable of steering the economy with interest rates?

It's personal for me in the battle of small biz vs corp biz, it's personal for me in the war for the middle class, it's personal for me in this fight for the family.     

. * We can only imagine the morass of bureaucracy it will take to administer Rent Control, housing will be forever taken off the market and it may encourage an illegal black market in Rent Controlled units.https://caanet.org/votervoice/You can contact your local reps here to fight this injustice!!