This has a cost but nothing close to what you’d have to pay investors in a pool, which is something else you mentioned.

My primary goal is cashflow so looking for an asset that works and is also in a growing area.

Or, is there a manual workaround like keeping track in a Google Sheet or Excel?  

What makes it slow in this case is that you don't really start seeing real cash flow until after year five but it's more effective than rentals in that there is little to no maintenance.Sure you can live in a home while fixing it up with the intention of selling it for a nice profit later but I think many people are already doing that and the buyers of slow flips now also have that opportunity without having to qualify with a bank.

He was helping a friend in a weird situation but $700 was fairly close to what others rented for.

It is possible to buy too many too fast and put yourself in a financial hardship.Have you ever heard of a startup store that done real good and added another store that done good?

Lenders will finance up to 80% of the appraised value, so if the value does come in lower, that will result in a lower loan amount. 

Typically my analogy is something like: if you're in a happy relationship, you're not going to go looking and see if the grass is greener on the other side... so for you what is it you're really looking for?

The rate will be higher (typically 1% to 1-1/2% higher) but you will be able to sell, refinance, or payoff the loan without  having to worry about paying what could potentially be thousands of dollars in a pre-payment penalty. 

All the best ones I know are full and not taking new clients.I would encourage you to hit this one hard because they get very busy in a month and they have little to no time for anything other than servicing clients after the Holidays, until May.Real estate lawyer - I use and recommend @Brad Schaeppi.