It is not usually a passive investment, even when owning rental properties.

Both @Nathan Gesner and @Lauren Stark have provided valuable insights on this.One potential path for you is to join an established team to gain experience.

I’m planning to start by buying in Buffalo to gain experience and learn the ropes.

LoL So really trying to learn what I can, gain some capital, and see what my options could be for the year.I'd like turnkey and long term renters in place, as that seems like a good way to get started as a rookie. 

Figure out the state and federal capital gains tax and depreciation recapture after selling costs.

Certainly nothing ground-breaking in terms of ideas here, however I'll be very hands on (and on site) during the process to make sure that every step of the way is executed to a high standard and very carefully.Once I've hopefully developed a successful track record and gained experience, my next goal would be to move on to commercial assets (think multi-family, industrial etc) so that I can leverage my existing investor network and real estate knowledge to raise 3rd party equity and take on bigger projects.

And you would get to indefinitely defer all tax on the gain from the sale.

Starting sooner rather than later allows you to benefit from long-term appreciation, build equity, and gain hands-on experience, even with a smaller property.

I just listed my last property for sale, a fourplex in Pocatello, because now I focus more on commercial RE and syndications to be a true passive investor and not deal with tenants and repairs.

Consider the "2 of the last 5 year rule" to avoid capital gains.