Does anyone have any advice for how make quick contact with leads or how to find/build a list to make cold calls?

Definitely do-able, but good deals good scooped up quickly. 

As you can imagine capital starts drying up quickly "trapping" 20% into each unit.

And you can do quick upgrades, repaint, etc and get higher rents.What I would want to know is why they are moving out? 

Company needs to have been in business under the same name for at least 10 years and contact previous customers as well or visit current jobs that they are working on. 

Hey All,Quick question, this may be a standard strategy, but what is the best plan when you start thinking about retirement and you own real estate.You can't eat equity.

I quickly realized people get screwed all the time and there's nothing they can do about it. 

I know he is your brother, but that's a quick way for a bad Thanksgiving dinner when you disagree about something and don't have an operating agreement to help you resolve the issue.

If so, how are you capturing the opt in a way that would allow a quick response?

You could look for a property that would work for a short term rental, which could increase cash flow allowing you to quickly put more money in reserves and for your vacation home, or to pay back a money partner.