So you have to create that balance for yourself.I don't think your goals are bad, you are basically living below your means (in an RV) and buying rental properties.

@Drew Sygit is correct - AND Detroit has had VERY bad weather in Jan - worst then most years. 

Multiple people had some bad things to say about the area, but when I moved and realized that it was a low income area with a lot of homeowners, I was motivated to improve the property to match the effort my neighbors have put in. 

I have talked to tons of investors recently and everyone says the Zillows interface is the worst, but it is just a side comment and we keep going on to the next conversation. So I have never gotten to the root of what...

This is something I try to live by and teach my kids if I can - "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.

Wasn't too bad. 

What would a bad, decent, and great commission plan be for a lead generator/appointment setter for a house-flipping business?

This gets people burned too many times by getting comps from a wholesaler, believing the comps, and then trying to sell it at that outprice that the wholesaler/bad agent gave is a huge miscalculation.

If they did, that’s really bad practice management.

Tenants with bad credit know it and are expecting you to ask for a larger deposit.