I've always felt there's not enough focus in most information about real estate investing that seriously looks at doing what you're doing, and far too much emphasis on putting more faith in your PM than a priest has in Christ.

I don't know why this thread has had so much emphasis on having the buyer explain their numbers or criteria to the agent.

Emphasis on PLAN. 

I have a college degree in business with an emphasis in real estate and I did do a few deals for other people.  

We want to be "great landlords" and with the emphasis on providing services and products that are superior.We are currently looking to purchase something this summer or fall.

You may potentially be able to put pace the returns from a fund if you invest properly yourself but I feel that strategy will put an emphasis on required time commitment.

However, given that I am a novice investor, this tactic puts too much emphasis on my limited experience and related skill in property investing.

Bolding emphasis is mine. 

We decided we'd rather buy and cashflow a known entity than risk the unknown (and if you haven't built or dealt with building/development in Portland,  before Id put a heavy emphasis on that point). 

Too much emphasis put on scaling and not quality of purchaseProfit motive: Too many posters want to leverage the site for self interest (turn key, lenders, agents).