@Justin BartramHey Justin, sounds like you’ve got a solid plan and I like the approach of leveraging your equity to scale your flips carefully.

At your stage, focus on deals where the numbers are tight but doable, improvements are straightforward, and you can realistically add value without overcomplicating things.Bottom line: start small, structure your first few deals to be low-risk, and use this period to build experience, credibility, and a network—you’ll leverage that more than anything else when you scale up.

I’d also consider self-managing or bringing management in-house at some point, especially if you’re scaling or already have multiple units. 

My goal is to leave stressful W2 job within 5 years or scale down to working on part-time/contract basis. 

I do it now still but larger scale and source through liquidation inventory

Start small, maybe one solid rental or a duplex, learn the ropes, and scale from there.

The DSCR only looks at the property, so it's much easier to scale.

Determine how you are going to scale.  

As I near retirement I'm also scaling back on the hassles of RE.

Quote from @Kelly Schroeder: I’ve been hearing more investors talk about DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) loans as a way to scale rentals.