Quote from @Joseph Leibovitch: We are all in the same boat.

He prided himself on being hands-on, convinced that no one else could do the job as well as he could.One evening, exhausted from another 14-hour day, Michael met with his friend James, a seasoned real estate investor."

If I was in your shoes I would find ways to streamline your day job so that you are not spending as much time in that role.

She tends to take several days before she finally requests a contractor to go out and see the property to make a quote, and then another week before the contractor submits their quotes.  

We were just happy our first and second mortgage was going to be covered and have a little cash flow at the same time.

Get it under agreement for less than asking price and offer to bring the loan current and have them carry that loan.The way I see it is they are just getting MLS properties under agreement - the last five I looked at had been sitting on the market for more than 150 days (overpriced) because the payoff of the loan would not be satisfied at lower price point. 

Thats why they usually build up to a dozen houses on one street all at the same time.

Otherwise 2 years from now the same posters will be back with the same stories on their new investments. 

Can your first payment be in 90 days, so you have time to rent the property?

How to avoid BEFORE this happens: pay a day early, don't raise issues, get loans that aren't backed by US Government that the note states they don't sell the servicing.How to avoid the late payment- pay all accounts from the same bank account on the same day of the month.