@Mitchell RosenbergAnother approach is the elimination method.

After years and years of being frustrated by how tough it is to find honest, communicative contractors, I decided to start a Handyman/contracting business.This is NOT a solicitation.My question is – What are Property Managers / STR Owners / Investors looking for when they need a handyman and how are they finding them?

@Sonja RevellsThey usually communicate to the seller there are liens and their proceeds would be less because of the payoffs.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a reliable, quality cleaning company with great communication?

That way, you can get your foot in the door, start building equity, and stay at home a bit longer to save more money.You could also consider the BRRRR method where you buy a fixer-upper, rehab it to add value, rent it out, and then refinance to pull your cash back out.

I now also offer limited service where I do the guest communications, marketing, and pricing. 

My answer, yes I currently am buying a $165,000 property in Phoenix (not listed on the MLS) using one of my methods to find, using only $5,871 plus closing costs of my money.

Once you have that amount of units (leveraged), focus on paying those off via snowball method.

Quote from @John Busch: Truly appreciate the multiple responses and look forward to continuing our communication as we live in Southern CA and do not have many contacts in that part of the county. 

If you figure out another method.