I'm currently playing this game at the moment.

My tip: If you play around with a hypothetical $1 million rental property and change one parameter at a time and then see how it influences long term results over 20, 30 years, you will develop a intuitive feeling for how deals work.

I work with Canadian and overseas investors and have seen a lot of value in connecting with local REI groups and online meetups where experienced operators share market insights and cash flow models.

While we have ~$25k set aside for this purpose to use in some capacity, we aren't sure whether we should try to make a play for something local in Greater Austin (given the challenges cash-flowing something and the depreciation we're seeing) or to look somewhere like Shreveport, LA where the rest of my family live (and could potentially help with property management).Unfortunately, something like a HELOC isn't on the table, as we bought our house in July 2021 and have seen significant depreciation since (although we have a 2.75% interest rate, which is nice!). 

I would say when you have significant assets to manage, kids to consider and things like trusts, life insurance and other vehicles come into play.

.)• MLS-adjacent data without needing full MLS access• Consistent skip-tracing qualityIf your bottleneck is finding more quality leads and building better lists, PropStream is the step up.Xleads tends to be more marketing-oriented:• Pre-built motivated seller lists• Quicker outreach integrations• Simpler interface if you just want plug-and-play listsBut the data quality isn’t as deep as PropStream, and comping is limited.If your goal is “the next level,” PropStream gives you more control and better data to scale volume.Pair it with consistent skip tracing and follow-up, and that’s usually where wholesalers see the jump.

I wouldn't have borrowed money to put into the stock market as the bulk of my net worth was already in stocks, so it was kind of a diversification play...and I wanted to see if I could make money not using any of my money...since the HELOC was revolving credit.I learned that I won't ever buy a rental house in my state again. 

Secondly, when it comes to a long-term play as such, you should focus more on the IRR (internal rate of return).

We don't accept payments except through our online portal or directly into our business banking by check or cash.

Quote from @Mackaylee Beach: First, start by researching local property management companies online and reading reviews from other property owners.