There is no doubt that on a one off basis you can do it cheaper, but having the infrastructure to turn 5, 10, 25 or 50 units in any given month is not simple and requires a real commitment.

So simple find someone that does deals, make a few bux for a finders fee.

@Kwok Wong it should be as simple as contacting your preferred lender and telling them you have a house you are ready to finance.

I use very simple contracts when direct with sellers.

A nice SFR (single family rental) brick home or perhaps a duplex but for your first purchase actually, wise to just stick with an SFR to keep it real simple.

If your unit is more B/C class where you can attract lots of decent hard working entry level to middle class workers then I would focus on improving the units to capture those kinds of tenants and oust the trouble makers you have. 

I would start simple and do a house hack.

Pretty simple process if you're willing to pay the $1500.

It is not always simple or straight forward.

I am not aware of Lane's participation on any BiggerPockets podcasts - it is possible, as I have not reviewed all 1,000 of them, that he has appeared on a BiggerPockets show, but I was not able to find one from a simple search.