You have a great group of people to help you and build a successful portfolio. 

One other thing that people in their 60s can consider is - if you are planning on taking Social Security and making passive income part of what you live on, rental income may not count as income against your Social Security benefits.

In the end, people rely on internet for all sorts of things and you want that to be reliable.

With the cost of utilities and the level of comfort people feel is mandatory now there is no way I would want to be on the hook for it. 

What you need to learn in your 20s is how professional business works, how to manage people and projects, how to run an organization and how to sell ideas and concepts.

Generally speaking if the people are clean the pets are also.

Yes, you need a team, however you can't just assemble people together and call it a team. 

Quote from @Theodore Sutton: Check out the site meetup.com and also the events page on BP for meetings up in your area to meet people like this and build relationships.

I can see how an application fee per person can be a deterrent for applicants in my case whether for more upscale rentals people may see it as more normal.I am starting off as a non-refundable fee and measure the resistance, then adjust if needed.

There are a lot of great resources here and around the web for people looking to invest in Birmingham.