I am currently a physical education teacher and soccer and basketball coach.

Real estate values are also fueled by speculation and hype, but the underlying physical asset is also of value.

They have to keep the lights on if they have a physical space and they should not simply be in the REIA business.How much do they sell?

I'm an Out of state, Out of country buyer....I buy while I am physically out of (not in) the area.  

We currently have 2 duplexes and I guess it's not enough to qualify as RE professional , although I spent quite a few hours advertising, doing showings, phone and in person interviews, screening, analysing applications, creating lease contracts, billing some utilities, documenting maintenance requests, typing up and serving some papers to the tenants when needed, communicating with lawers, even doing some physical labor  ( although my husband does most of that) and other stuff.

They have a physical office in Austin. 

It would be different somewhat, if we didn't want to or plan on physically being onsite, but it could be done with a network.

If you're seeking fix and flip deals, the primary loans available are hard money, as most conventional loans need the home to be in livable condition and pass physical inspection.

If they have company over and something happens, the lawsuit will exhaust their liability before cutting into yours

My model has a 60% margin in a house retailing for $40K(if financing was vertically integrated there would be interest profits as well), room for upsells and add ons, offers physically secured properties for financier(permantly set dwelling, not mobile), low startup cost(less than $250K) and the model can be scaled and reproduced anywhere in the US.