I don't like when an attorney says "It's straight forward" as there are about a million things you could do to mess it up and put yourself in a financial or legal liability. 

I am an asset manager with primary assets being RE related (mostly small MF and mineral rights). 

Hey Austin, checkout my asset protection tier list below which may help you decide how much protection you really need.

I knew (and know) many investors who were financially wiped out in 2009-2011.

Of Course this is my opinion and experience but anything south of hwy 20 or West of downtown in my mind is to be avoided.. the other areas I mentioned are where investors want to go and not risk their financial life on a pocket or just because a property makes 50 or 100 more a month on PAPER.And I am not picking on Jackson I just have a ton of experience there and know most of the big players.

Financial Planning: - Given your W2 income, understand how your real estate income will impact your overall tax situation.

I have seen many groups simply share the Income Statement down to NOI, which is not an adequate way to monitor the financial health of any type of deal (syndication or otherwise).

So with that being said - I just wanted you to have a moment to think about what exactly does “scale” look like to you from a financial perspective - a time perspective - and what you physically want to be doing with your time. 

It is about the long-term appreciation of the asset.

When you ask them about their passion, they always talk about the physical asset first and ROI later.