If you think that the area will bring in people upgrading the buildings and improving the area a lower cashflow deal can be worth it the paydown on the property and appreciation are your true wealth generators!

If you have solid strategies for generating your own leads and can weather the ramp up time it opens up more windows of opportunity. 

Ultimately, because of my self employment history and spotty income I had a difficult time getting pre approved.

Doing the same thing that generates positive results can be a bit boring. 

Ask if there are new big employers moving into the area.

Currently we have 7 agents.We offer high tech lead generating website, software for electronic signatures , no monthly fees and give out leads to agents ( some times - since they are independent) and give a 75% commission split with the opportunity to get 100% cap.Any suggestions on how to grow our brokerage, attract the right agents and still be competitive?

It's probably the top section of real estate that generates the most lawsuits, so many brokers just don't want the headache for the low returns.Think about what your revenue and expenses will be vs time and effort. 

quick back story: Self employed RE Broker in Greater Seattle Wa, my wife is a w2 employee, 133k HELOC, 50k COH, looking to acquire first investment through brrrr, flip and/or short term (airbnb) most likely out of stateGetting right into it....My wife and I have just closed on our HELOC and we have some COH as well...we have a few different options and were looking to see what others would do in our shoes....1.

Now you just need to hold on to the properties forever and hope they don't eliminate like kind exchange.Flipping is a great way to make money, but buy and hold is a better way to store wealth and generate passive income.

Having a high personal income whether its self employed or W2 earned income is a nice luxury because it affords you more runway when encountering future borrowing hurdles.How long before you can use rental income ?