@Corbett BrasingtonIf you are communicating with the seller directly, better to have less people talking to the seller.The realtor can have some roles as follows1) Connect you with his references for property management / contractors / title companies / etc2) Give you comps to indicate what the property is worthBest of luck

As you suggest lowering down payment to buy more properties is one way, although the downside is greater risk in event of down cycle and more time to manage required.  

I say that because every decent legit place I know of in market, yes offers the option of doing just tenant placement, for self-managing. 

I'm in Florida and self manage and can't find this type of form in the PRO member landlord forms package.

If you self manage short-term rentals it's well within reach. 

I currently work with investors who are looking to begin their portfolio in turn-key real estate and manage for them on the back end so they can still enjoy their everyday lives while having a resident in place paying down their loans. 

FCI, Provident, Madison Management, Allied are just a few.

If you don't have the relationships, hire someone who does.This is why Brian Burke can go “large corporate” while I have to stay “small private”; he has the ability to MANAGE PEOPLE that I do not.  

On a more enterprise scale, I employ RevMax software as well as a fractional revenue manager who looks at the prices daily on a market level and a comp set level. 

I recommend doing a deep dive in the STR rabbit hole and seeing if not just the numbers make sense, but also the time it will take up for you or your STR manager.