OOS maybe yesLender: the bank that use the mortgage for their own cash flow rather than to be sold to FMPM: that's hands on approach, very fast in responding, pop and mom PM is ok, not corporate styleTax Pro: this one also, the tax pro that has can do attitude and able to understand vast array of different regulation, I used to have lot of argumentation with the tax pro how to handle RE and by now I understand which one is good.

Debt offers some form of protection and also enables me to grow my portfolio "wide" before I pay it "down." 

I do not believe I can say with any certainty that if you do this one thing, every problem or pain point you have will be solved or simply go away.Full disclosure, my wife is a 1031 QI so I am balancing my comment and any opinion here and doing my best to be objective and lessen any conflict of interest.So if I focus on real estate and the issue of mitigating someone's tax situation, the 1031 exchange has been the most widely accepted and used strategy since inception over a century ago. 

There are certain towns for sure that have now gone past 2007 values, but on a state wide basis, or even northern NJ on a whole, we're still going up.

It is pretty widely accepted that you are able to refinance after closing on your replacement property in a 1031 exchange. 

Another right approach from you :-)  Real estate is also very wide, I would avoid investing in MF syndication at this time around except if the property purchased has large discount. 

So it makes sense to choose a home that will make a good rental right from the start.Common factors that real estate investors consider when choosing a good rental property include:The neighborhood, which will influence the type of tenants the home will attract and the rent they can afford to pay.Property tax rates, which vary widely from one place to the next and can have a significant impact on the total return of a rental home.School district quality, crime rate, and overall neighborhood ratings affect occupancy levels and the overall value of the home.Job market and population growth are two indicators real estate investors consider to help predict the future demand from tenants for rental housing.Housing Price Index (HPI) and Housing Affordability Index (HAI) are two other metrics investors use to anticipate rental property demand, because when home prices are unaffordable more people may choose to rent rather than own.Average rents and rent growth also affect where to buy a home to house hack, since the rental income will be used to pay for part of the mortgage and other expenses.

I know 3 that write them locally in DFW...and only one of those will do it state wide.

If you go with wood and you don't want wood showing on either side of the walls they make a thin metal cap that can fit right over the stud to make it look like its all steel/professional construction, not that wood isn't professional, but you smell what I'm stepping in:-)  BTW, on the rolled 3' wide metal, the big box stores can't compete with the local rolled metal suppliers on price.  

In my area, the comps are wide enough that Delta is sometimes $300 PSFT.