First dont take everything people say as gospel, There is a good chance what your consultant told you is not 100% true.  

I've sent you a connection request- I'd be happy to connect you to some people.

My goal is for REI to eventually become my passive and active income.

Phill and Shenoah Grove have an active group in Austin.

Most towns/cities have a master plan for the aspects/areas of the city that they are actively focusing their efforts on, and are pretty thorough with specific plans for carrying out those efforts with estimated timelines etc.

I would make sure you are tracking your hours correctly and all of the activities you are tracking count.

As a result, the previously suspended $100,000 in passive losses can now be treated as losses from nonpassive activities.

@Jay Mayer some people will tell you that a tenant will not move over a rent increase, but I can assure you that it will cause them to start shopping around.

I would send 10 people into this program. 

You've learned a valuable lesson that all kinds of people in all kinds of businesses eventually learn......check your spam folder regularly.