You may pull it off.Still, there's something to be said for the critical mass, many baskets, safe-if-boring neighborhoods.

I prefer to source all my deals off-market, which allows me to find properties with less competition and negotiate directly with motivated sellers.

Go direct to seller, learn to source your own deals and you will be successful  

They claim to charge in the "high 4 figures" - one web source says it's $4800 - to join their group and get access to their network and resources.  

Instead I want to take advantage of the opportunity I have of living rent free to invest my time and money in STR's to hopefully build that portfolio up and eventually make that my main source of income (I understand that will take time).

From sourcing turnkey rental properties to finding long-term residents, and comprehensive property management, our expert team offers a full-service solution for a truly stress-free investing experience.

My humble advice to anyone attempting to do creative finance is:Creative finance is for experienced investors who have access to capital if anything goes wrong.Learn the lawsDon't use a contract "off the internet", laws vary by state and are also regulated on a federal levelLearn the financing techniques correctlyDon’t skip parts of the processDon’t ever do a “kitchen table” closingUse the proper deedAn attorney can help you with the legal work, but the rest you are on your ownYour guru will not bail you out“Investing” in someone else’s deal by providing a small 2nd loan so the “investor” can pay for “cash to the seller” and for “closing costs” so he can do the deal is a very bad planKnow what problems can ariseLearn the responses and solutions to problems before they are neededKnow everything there is to know about Title and what that meansKnow who a "protected class" individual isLearn the "back doors"Learn human natureUnderstand timelinesUnderstand regulation enforcement (some of these "mistakes" have a 10 year statue of limitations ( they can charge you 10 years AFTER you do the transaction) and carry hefty fines and possible imprisonmentThe court doesn't accept "I didn't know" for an answer"Know that the source of the lead plays a serious role in some states and federallyKnow how much of a "profit" pushes the boundaries to invite an investigationYou can be sued by the seller if you don’t do things correctlyYou are automatically at fault if an investigator or attorney or regulator gets involved.

I prefer to source all my deals off-market, which allows me to find properties with less competition and negotiate directly with motivated sellers.

We vetted a  handful of "turnkey" companies and REI Nation was the best in terms of reviews across multiple sources. 

A reasonably good source is AVVO.com by zip code and expertise.