Still can be very beneficial for a new investor but personally I think not as good as a service as they had with their exclusive listings where they had inspections already done, rent rolls available, and you can complete the entire offer/acceptance via their platform rather than being handed off to an agent. 

In the past two years we have completed over a dozen flips, We are holding 20 rental units self managed and 2 self managed Air BnBs.

I have 2 options:- finance the construction pre-selling the apt, and take my profits (expected to be around 700K pre-tax); or- finance the construction with a 6-7%/year loan (collateral = my house), keep the 10 units, and once the building is completed in 24 months, rent them for circa 180K/ year gross.

Once complete, refinance into a low or no seasoning DSCR loan.

I was soooo obsessed with the gator method and basically for me it was the shiny object syndrome I guess, I went from so obsessed to just completely lost interest in it.

This will still qualify for a residential mortgage and you have a better shot of completely offsetting your entire payment.

I am, admittedly, a complete novice but I consider myself an astute student! 

Yes, as I'm doing more research, I'm finding that I would prefer to invest in markets that I know personally, so as not to rely on external variables completely.

Is it worth getting into real estate investments that’s professional managed primarily to avoid taxes?  

Basic staging with an agent usually means they give you insight into how you should:Declutter and depersonalize by removing photos and personal itemsArrange your furniture to improve the room’s flow and make it feel biggerAdd plants, move art, or re-arrange other accessoriesFull-service staging is another option if your house needs more hands-on attention.