I starting reading rental real estate books at age 22. I bought my first rental at age 27. I'm now 40 years old. I have 3 single family homes that are rentals and a primary home. One of the rentals is an unofficial duplex with a separate mother-in-law suite. My step-dad owns a 39-unit. I am going to study his books and ask him questions over the next 6-12 months to start the process.
Would I benefit from trying to do something in the 5-12 unit range around age 45 to get some practice with multi-family before taking the plunge into a 50 unit?