My initial gut feeling says self manage as a way to get hands on experience, but I will still have a full time job until I can expand my RE portfolio further.Looking for any advice, lessons learned, and opinions on the topic from people on both sides of the coin.  

Is offering laundry in each unit a benefit or would one coin-operated unit in a common area work? 

To find out what the rents are and how many available simply look at the classified for rentals, OR call a realtor or PM co in the area, see simple :) Your other questions are 100% irrelevant, (STOP READING BOOKS I suspect this is what they are telling you to learn) you are not going to learn about the area sitting on your computer.

I used one in Denver, CO. in 2002 and they helped me wholesale 3 deals and complete my first fix/flip.  

Doug, you took the words right out of my mouth, and I like it that you nailed both sides of the coin, finishing with a truth that is important: "it's not necessarily a waste of time, just not the best use of your time."

You'll want all the information about the income and expenses of the property itself, as well as the information about any financing you're using, so you can determine your projected returns.Income is just rent and, if it exists, other income from coin laundry, garage rental, etc.

For example charging a utility fee for the water or providing coin operated laundry.6.

It was also before he went off the deep end of crypto/gold/etc and was still a RE Educator.  

You need to hire a PM co. in your area.

Crypto may be appealing for some since bitcoin and etherium are at all time lows.