The deals that I am doing right now though, I am basically getting the land for free, and building on, refinancing all the cash out at the end, and keeping the rental for basically no money into it. 

Basically you stay working there and rollover funds into another qualified plan.   

So they basically did rental arbitrage on your property for 7 years and then walk away. 

It will familiarize you with the basic terminology and benefits.

Basically, they guarantee your principal.  

Basically any brokerage will want to have you on.

I'd suggest choosing an area that looks like it has potential and then spend your spare time just driving around.

On the other hand, they will manage investor's unit as part of an 'apartment complex' (https://www.zillow.com/b/6734-summer-fest-drive-109-110-san-...).

Buying a single-family home can be a great starting point for new investors to learn the ropes and property management basics.

Fences, basic landscaping, tree removal can put some nice padding into your margins as well.