Take your time and find one that you like and has good protection.

So even if the cash flow is only 3% or 4% cash on cash, that’s enough to provide a protective layer to cover unexpected items.To me, the cash flow is NOT to put spendable cash in my pocket NOW but rather keep the property self supporting while it increases in value over the long term.In addition, every property a purchase has a cash reserve fund - call it my rainy day fund or my Sominex account (ie I can sleep at night knowing if the furnace goes out I have $8,000 in my reserve fund to replace it.)One final note, I have found once one reaches a certain net worth, cash flow no longer is a concern, there is always as much cash flow as anyone wants.Final note, who will have more cash flow someone with $1M investible cash or $3M investible cash?

But MANY/maybe most people don’t know you need to spend that $10-15k on top of the solar.

What's my best strategy here to protect myself and to assist with this connection?

Pay special attention to #4 and #5.An LLC is useful for two things: anonymity and legal protection.

How much $ do you want to spend? 

Yes starting out there is a low dollar per hour but at some point it needs to be worth the while - as you could be spending that time doing something more profitable.Not saying to give up by any stretch just saying make sure to re evaluate consistently to put the best strategy together

We have a 14-page management contract that we've added our real experiences to over the years, with the intent of protecting both us AND the landlord.

Also, starting my journey in real state investment made change my mindset and since last year I have been more disciplined on my finances and I have been taking better decision on how I spend my money. 

Spend your time learning your market and learning to market.