The response has been ultra sluggish and slow.

Thanks for the reply.I definitely feel like my estimates are on the high-side, but I'm trying to be ULTRA conservative when it comes to estimates only because it's my first ever project. 

As for having equity in my properties I have generated tons of it, much when I buy. but unlike ultra conservative investors I "move my equity" to higher paying investments. 

As they move up the net worth ladder investors tend to want less headaches and move into higher quality assets where ongoing cash flow is a little less but long term equity growth prospects are high.There is generally not demand for low income areas except for investor buyers searching for yield to deal with a headache versus ultra high quality areas where investors will usually pay  a premium to a seller to own in an area.

You have to be ultra careful because with this length of time holding the property a lot of things can go wrong and the market can change temporarily for the worst due to weather, holidays spike in interest rates, sudden oversupply etc...

She also has things like full time maintenance staff that make rehab ultra cheap for me.

Cash buying is not conservative, it is ultra conservative and produces very low returns.

Based on todays interest rates for every dollar of dead equity in a property you are losing 5% annually.Dead equity is the most ultra conservative approach to real estate investing and reduces your ROI to below the most conservative returnes.

You may want to reconsider your ultra conservative investment approach in order to grow and actually achieve positive cash flow.If you are buying homes worth 50K or less and renting for $850 + per month you are not doing as badly however you should try to find a way to pull all your dead equity especially before the markets turn and you end up losing it all.Paying off rental properties is not investing it is hoarding of cash and is extreamly expensive.Just food for thought

This is a tried and tested strategy that is widely used (and abused) in ultra-hot real estate markets (see: Toronto and Vancouver).