I did purchase some multi-family properties, however, along the way I also discovered "excellent" single-family home deals that were too good to pass up.  

You can either buy in a linear market, where you can purchase an older home for $150K, get excellent cash flow and see an average of 3% appreciation.

Not only do most investors spend too much time sitting behind a computer polishing off their fancy excel spreadsheets, they rarely walk properties.

Thank you, RTR, for providing excellent and valuable services from start to finish, making it easy for out-of-state investors to own income-producing rental properties.”I agree wholeheartedly with you, but running amuck is the new theme.

Perhaps you are excellent at all four roles I outlined.

I would recommend that you get @Brian Burke's excellent book The Hands-Off Investor, before you look at any more deals.

I know how busy this will be, which is why ideally once we have 3-4 properties, the maintenance of the website, advertising, and property management will become my full time job (my wife will continue to work to provide some steady income during the transition)For your 4 questions - those are all excellent things to look out for and they are things I would not have thought to ask.

I don't have excel and it seems to be the only option that I can see.Thanks in advance!

However, got a willing tenant with an excellent credit score and everything willing to sign up for a year lease.

There is an apartment building adjacent to it, and this lot would make an excellent spot for another.