I'm an IT guy by day (architect - 20 years in IT), so leveraging technology has been the main ingredient in enabling us to scale our RE business, while still maintaining our day jobs.

@Joshua Minatel,You can rollover your old 401k into self-directed IRA, which will enable to you to invest outside of the stock market into virtually any alternative investment opportunity, including real estate. 

This saves you from having to et two loans and enables a stronger offer since you are purchasing in cash. 

Igloo homes offer bluetooth enabled lock pairing so the property doesn't need wifi.

Something like this may enable you to get all the cash up front from him, and still be able to end his lease in 6 months if it goes sideways.

Syndicators want to reward their investors in a more steady flow of quarterly distributions on these properties so lower cost loans (not having to pay principal early on) enables the investor to get some cash flow while the rents move up during this renovation and repositioning period.  

.), Metro Property Taxes - LendingTree (https://www.lendingtree.com/ho...).Limited urban sprawl - Many cities in the US, including Phoenix, Memphis, and Indianapolis, have large open areas surrounding them, enabling unlimited expansion through urban sprawl.

As I am a out-of-state investor I was looking for a Wi-Fi enabled meter.

Everyone keeps talking about how the first deal is the hardest, and that momentum builds after that, but my fear is that the cash flow in my first property will not be enough to enable a purchase of a second for a while, and I really want to be able to scale quickly...

Plenty of opportunity there to enable scalability and security to PMs or PM companies to take on more tenants.