Look up the courses taught by Justin Kivel, specifically the Pro forma modeling course and the real estate financial modeling boot camp.

This is much lower than the costs associated with refinancing.Benefits of Mortgage RecastingLower Monthly Payments: The most immediate benefit is a reduced monthly payment, which can free up cash for other financial goals.Save on Interest: By reducing your principal balance, you’ll pay less interest over the life of the loan, potentially saving thousands of dollars.No Credit Check or Appraisal: Unlike refinancing, recasting doesn’t require a credit check, income verification, or home appraisal, making it a quicker and simpler process.Keep Your Current Interest Rate: If you have a favorable interest rate on your current loan, recasting allows you to maintain it while still lowering your payments.Drawbacks of Mortgage RecastingRequires a Lump Sum: Not everyone has the cash on hand to make a significant lump sum payment, which can make recasting inaccessible for some homeowners.Doesn’t Shorten Loan Term: While your monthly payments are lower, recasting doesn’t reduce the length of your loan.

Not sure how many PMCs you've had bad experiences with, but we'll take exception to:"Then do a thorough research on tenant applicants (note: leaving this to a PM may be hazardous to your financial health)".BP seems to have more threads about screening mistakes by DIY landlords as opposed to PMCs.Now, if you'd have mentioned Maintenance, you'd get no argument from me:) Even the PMC industry acknowledges maintenance as one of the biggest challenges.Rereading my post, I kinda see how I sounded negative toward PMs.  

Next up is a huge financial hit: closing costs.

I'm a financial planner by profession so you'd think the default answer is, "heck yeah, always hire a planner!"  

Quote from @Shawn Questa: Hi all,I am curious what some of the Pros would do to Help a Seller in this situation while making a Deal happen.I found a 200+ day old MLS Listing where the Agent said the Seller is in Financial Ruin, hasn't Paid the Mortgage in a year, owes about 180k on an approx. 210k House and multiple Buyers have backed out.I don't know how someone could not Pay their Note in a year and not at least be in Pre-foreclosure. 

Over the last year, I've developed a passion for real estate and want to be able to use it to generate income and secure financial freedom in the long run.

If your goal is financial freedom, which is a long-term goal, not so much.Financial freedom is a long-term proposition, not a one-time event.

A hard money or institutional lender my be anywhere from 65%-100% LTV.

The rate might be .5% higher for the 30 year, but looking at it financially what if you took that $187/mo and invested it into the stock market at 7-9% returns?