In OTR, we see that it is possible to get $1500/mo for a 1 bedroom without meaningful upgrades but after spending $30,000 in a unit the rent might only go up to $1700.

The Tampa Bay area is more than likely not your market with those buying criteria.You will have to put meaningful sweat equity and be creative in your leasing (MTR, rent by room etc) to produce a 3bd SFH  <200K purchase price that cash flows. 

I encourage you to post your license number to this thread so that people finding it see the issue has been corrected.

I'd obviously encourage you to speak with members who are currently in any mentorship program before you join, as a rule of thumb. 

In all honesty, unless you or someone on your team has extensive knowledge and experience in credit, mortgage finance, secondary markets, and portfolio management, your company is probably better served by building a deep and meaningful partnership with a small local lender to handle this for you - or maybe even buy such a lender with infrastructure in place as a turnkey solution.

@Amy DenzlerRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder, etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

It encourages potential clients to reach out to you directly and deters scammers.

For example:a) If a prospective client encourages you to send them your listings?

We always encourage our clients to share their positive experiences with friends, family and in online forums / reviews. 

If so, how would you encourage the owner that hiring a professional agent is a better approach?