If you have a mortgage and rates go back to anything resembling normal - hard to imagine you'd break even month to month let alone have positive cash flow per month.  

This resembles the active actions of a job more than an investment.

Here is what I do:1) Find a deal that resembles your model.  

@Julian Buick as an attorney, I resemble that remark.  

Very little of this area resembles the more concrete jungle feel  of the areas closer to Center City.

You have to get this at the right price something that can resemble a mortgage not a high mortgage payment though a higher payment will motivate the buyer to refinance and cash the seller out sooner.

@Brian GibbonsI appreciate the time you took to write the post, however your style and thoughts on real estate do not at all resemble mine.     

We've had a long dry-spell where we've found little meeting our criteria at anything resembling a descent price.  

a plan is only as good as is resemblance to reality.  

@Eric ClifftI love the fact that you are methodically & creatively designing your marketing strategy.Direct mail marketing traditional results dictate that response rates should be higher on a piece addressed to a specific person vs. anything that may resemble junk mail like a general mailing to "resident" or equivalent.However, higher response rates do not necessarily=higher profit.Run a split test on both methods to determine the profitability of each lead, not just response rate.