A great deal is only as good as the people managing it.For the OOS investors here: What was your biggest "culture shock" when you first started analyzing Midwest numbers?

This is a really solid breakdown.I'm in PM and work with quite a few investors in Birmingham and what you’re describing is exactly the fork in the road most people hit around the 4–6 door mark.

I think people are getting caught up in the fact that if they win these auctions they think they are winning something without doing their homework in advance, it was really sad to see.

Trying to network with new people!

Here in Europe people buy homes with 0% cash by the seller purposely increasing the purchase price, or the third party appraisal, hence giving you the money required to not pay a dime.

I've spent the last several months deep in the landlord/self managing world researching how small portfolio owners track their rentals.

I recently started using DoorLoop to manage the 87 doors in my property management firm, which are owned by 16 different owners.The website and features feel unnecessarily complicated, despite the attractive interface.

I think I can continue to manage it myself. 

It’s rarely because it doesn’t work.It’s usually because:• They spend hours dialing themselves and burn out• They hire a VA… but end up managing them daily• There’s no real KPI tracking• Follow-up is inconsistent• The owner shifts from “closer” to “call manager”I see this pattern a lot.An investor starts calling → gets exhausted.Then hires a VA → now they’re reviewing calls, fixing scripts, checking dials, pushing accountability.Instead of focusing on closing deals…They’re managing outbound.Cold calling only becomes predictable when it’s structured and managed properly.Otherwise, it feels chaotic — and people quit.If you’re skeptical about cold calling…What would you need to see for it to become a viable channel for you?

I’ve been self-managing my 25 units since 2019.