That being said, the difficulty is that they will feel "punished" for having told you.

Andrew, for someone that is already struggling to balance family and work, doing it yourself would be very difficult. I

I see the advantages of using the leverage of a cash buyer, but if I do this method, how difficult is it in reality to refinance properties that have no note and are below $50k.Thanks,I look forward to learning more and contributing where I can to this great community!

There incentive is to keep units occupied at the highest rent reasonable... pretty similar to yours.To identify property managers, I recommend starting with their leasing departments.A good PM should have the ability to take good pictures, create compelling listing descriptions, utilize technology (online applications, social media campaigns, etc.,) and have a leasing team that you can get in touch with and is flexible to schedule showings.

Should I anticipate difficulties making this transition even if the current leases do not auto-renew?

Keep in mind technology changes drastically over time.

So really right in line with historical stock market returns.The beauty of real estate is the it is 1) much easier to buy advantageously (get a good deal) than with stocks--at least for the average person, 2) you can also buy, even without leverage, properties that out perform the stock market, and 3) you can safely leverage 70% to 95% without much difficulty, making your money work much harder for you. 

@Tom Tran your plan may work but the difficulty is finding a property that meets your criteria and has an owner willing to allow a lease option.

I only see this in commerical, and in hundreds of projects the only time I saw a client ALMOST use it was on a $20mm project where the GC was 1.5years late, even then the client didn't do it because of the difficulty. 

Given the amazing technology of the internet, I can directly invest and manage my portfolio, so I really have no need for an adviser.