As we look to grow faster and scale we are now starting to consider letting outside investors come into our deals.

Will taking all of my money allow me to get into another deal that will cover the loss and scale?

Higher leverage (LTVs) can make a huge difference in building and scaling a portfolio (see example above!).

Not scale to 15 houses, go grab 5 better one's. 

I'm familiar with medium scale commercial construction projects (above 20000 sqft), but i'm now considering small residential developments in the 500k's, which is the first time buyers range in LA, in working class areas. 

Maybe instead of scaling rapidly you’d like to buy 1 building a year.

My partner and I are looking to scale our business and look at buying some deals from sheriff sales in our areas.

Also, some buyers may have a more competitive advantage than other buyers or can integrate an acquisition to enhance their economies of scale which can also create a strongly motivated buyer ( who can potentially pay more than anyone else ) . 

I've been stagnant with a duplex for 4 years with no goals or plan to scale at all thinking my market was too expensive .

Keep in mind that when you invest on the lower end of the rent scale, success and failure is dependent on what tenant is put in place by your property manager - on the lower end of the rent scale, you have to be willing to accept that you might have a tenant that eventually doesn't pay, or when they move you are stuck with a multi-thousand dollar set of repair bills.