However, the houses, for the most part, are large and fixed-up, so I did not expect that developers could afford to entice many of these folks to sell.That, it turns out, was naive.

Full unfinished basement that could be used for tenant storage, hopefully enticing them to stay longer.

My current phase of life is VERY busy with a big family and a director role in my company, so the passive role as an LP while learning along the way seems enticing.  

I really looked at this property originally as a wholesale deal but I found out there was no equity pay to entice an investor.

Definitely consider an option that allows you to achieve all of these steps in one place (ie. keep track of things like rent payments + leases, but it also offers several other tools as well -- the ability for tenants to build a credit score up to 40+ points for on-time rent payments with our CreditBoost feature; which can be enticing for them as they are new student renters); and lastly offers maintenance ticket tracking with automated messaging).

And dangerous, with that enticing low voltage 110!

I have no track record until I get a few deals under my belt to entice people to lend private money to me. 

In your case I think just judging by what you've told us, your offers weren't enticing enough to move the needle for the other owners.

I currently work in the ER, but I'm growing dissatisfied with my job and don't want to work for somebody else.Real estate investing is enticing because it will allow me to spend more time with my wife and kids.

I think I'd like to move, but only when I find something a lot more enticing for me personally.