If you're asking for tips/advice on a message board you're likely not ready for prime time, especially if it involves taking other people's money for a business model that hasn't been tested and proven in the wild. 

My wife and I bought our first home in 1997, lived there long enough and below our means to get a down payment on our second (forever) home  without selling and now, 22 years later, have a nest egg that is pumping out cash and has appreciated wildly. 

Things just move slower here - dont know why but it does - guess that's why we typically haven't had wild RE valuation swings like other parts of the US.   

Application/credit check (Using Cozy @ $40 each)The problem is I am getting to this point and seeing credit scores and they are to my opinion wildly unqualified. 500 credit score, late payments in the last year, etc.

Students will behave like wild animals in a house if you let them.The inspections are part of our 8-10% flat fee that we charge for management.

Don't use wild hunches thinking the property will appreciate.

I am looking for long term cash flow positive investments as opposed to buying somewhere in CA with the hope that the property will appreciate wildly.

Probably $500-1000 for that, find a good local lawyer that knows about notes.Best wild guesses here on my part. 

I suggest finding numerous SFH and  investment properties (out of state) and calculating your ROI, find out if its really worth your wild to sink 20k in a property that might cashflow 200/month, find which area might appreciate faster..and execute!

It's tough enough to get to closing on 1 property with all the variables that exist. 2 would be wild.