He's a great guy, but he overleveraged a bit on the entire portfolio and when one thing went wrong, the dominos started to fall.

I may be thinking of this the wrong way and that is why I'm just asking the opinion of other more seasoned real-estate owners/investors.

Start with deals that feel manageable and let your confidence build, and remember that smaller, cleaner wins will get you back on track faster.You’re not wrong, it’s very possible to make this work, especially with the lessons you’ve learned and the systems you’re putting in place this time.

You can't really go wrong with a single family or a small multi-family.

Maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way, but rather than pay $100/month in fees, I'd rather spend that on targeted FB and social ads.But I'm open to being corrected here.

My primary contractor has one of my credit cards for my rentals solely owned by me and a second credit card for a rental I own in a partnership that has separate bookkeeping. obviously this strategy won't work for everyone but I've worked with this contractor for 25 years and we learned the hard way that every time he sent me to buy stuff at HD or Lowe's I ended up buying the wrong stuff.

That last line really nails it, business vs. lifestyle is the fork in the road most people don’t realize they’re choosing.There’s nothing wrong with scale if that’s the goal, but clarity on why you’re buying matters more than door count.

You’re asking the right question, and honestly, most people don’t ask it until something goes wrong.

It’s really a liquidity vs cost of capital decision.In practice, I’ve seen experienced investors do well with a hybrid approach:Keep enough cash or HELOC capacity to move fast on auctions or off-market dealsAvoid fully deploying liquidity if it limits your ability to act quicklyPaying off the primary and opening a HELOC can make sense if:You’re disciplined about using it only for acquisitionsYou’re comfortable with variable rates and have strong cash flow elsewhereOne thing I’ve seen work well is treating the HELOC as bridge capital, then refinancing into long-term debt once the deal stabilizes — that way you’re not carrying HELOC rates long-term.With your credit profile and existing portfolio, it’s really about flexibility and deal timing rather than “right vs wrong.”Curious — are the auctions you’re targeting more SFH or small multifamily?

Nothing wrong with hiring a PM, I just feel I can do a better job since they are my properties.