But I tend to eat fresh.

You need to eat, live and breath real estate if you want to succeed.

The costs alone will massively eat into your profits and a home run might become a base hit, at best. 

That may significantly lower cost of money, but still not eat all your cash?

Might risk it, as it's going to eat up all the commission then.EIN seems to be free and fast, might just do it so I don't have to give out my social.What are are some benefits are having a DBA?

Has anyone found tools or a process to make accurate rental estimates without eating up all your time?

@Mike HannemanYour post was overly dramaticYour property is done and rented so either eat the hard money interest for 6 months with less cash flow or go find a local credit union who will lend based on portfolio Not that hard

We both have had great careers and always had everything we needed, but something about getting up every morning and going to a job that is not fulfilling really eats at me. 

Driving the streets, talking to locals, eating/sitting at a local cafe, and personally getting a feel for the different areas will allow you to understand those dynamics and therefore allow you have an edge over other "out-of-state" investors that just rely on those reports and long-distance phone conversations.

Now, its also possible to use an IRA to invest in real estate, so you can have your cake and eat it too, BUT it makes investing more complicated. if you want to try that route, you better do some research first.