At first, he never responded to the suit though it had been delivered, and I continued moving the process forward, filing for summary judgement.Late in the process, long after his deadlines to respond had passed, he hired a small time tenant attorney to intervene.

And even though virtually every sponsor agreement allows me to share investment information with others who might be advising me on it (especially when club members are bound by an NDA), I still ask the sponsor if I can share it, because it's a test.

Hire them for smaller projects and build from there. 

It is to justify hiring a transaction coordinator.

It really helps to have someone local walk the property and neighborhood, but if that's not feasible for you yet I would at least "walk" the neighborhood virtually through Google Maps.Lastly, I would join a Facebook group of investors and landlords in that specific neighborhood.

this can achieve great return but capital Outlay is prohibitive for most (virtually everyone). 

I realize that I probably need to hire a financial expert to truly assist me with this question, but I’d like to ask the community how they’d look at this situation beforehand because my wife and I are relatively new at all of this.

I agree, i just hired a property manager for 2 rentals i own and they use buildium.

Two things when being a business owner - hire right, lease right.

I started with an existing plan from a builder then hired the draftsman to make requested modifications.