For Duplexes and larger units, I tend to recommend starting out with a mail piece that is professional, yet personalized.

Looking at my first property larger than 4 units, but finding it very difficult to cashflow with a commercial mortgage set-up. 

Certainly real estate syndication can be a great way to share risk, pool equity and acquire larger assets but as @Jay Hinrichs noted if you chose that path you enter into a new world of regulatory scrutiny.  We have put together syndications to buy multi-family assets and have also participated in syndications sponsored by other investors as a passive investor.

I applaud all of you who have been able to get into REI as a single or couple, but would love to hear from anyone with a larger family and how you've done it.

The previous tenants had a dog and a cat in the house, but upon their vacating the premises, the home was thoroughly cleaned by myself and then a cleaning service, most walls were repainted, wood floors were re-sealed with polyurethane, vents were vacuumed and furnace filter was changed.

If you go to the website of many of the larger private/hard money lenders, which you can find through Scotsman Guide, you’ll often see a link to become an “Affiliate.”

I don't run into this exact issue on my larger buildings as we have to contract with private garbage services in the Chicago area.

There's definitely a learning curve and a much larger time investment in the beginning as you set up systems and get to know your property and market, but set up good systems and a good boots on the ground team and it can hum along in the background for the most part.  

Downtown Matthews has a great stretch of pubs and outdoor areas that we used to take our dogs to.  

I did it probably half a dozen times in the first 2 or 3 months on BP.. and as lunch would wrap up the folks inviting me would give me the puppy dog eyes or not really ask for the check in a authoritative manner and well I just ended up buying lunch..