And, while we are on statistics, the market has far surpassed your .1% theory in its history.

While doing our taxes we realized that we won't ever surpass our standard deduction therefore won't really qualify to deduct mortgage interest on our personal residence.

The cap rate is awesome and you can almost always surpass the 1% rule.

I agree.This is not the forum to ask this specific question.Ask people who have surpassed your goal.

On a realistic note, how can you ever hope to catch up to or surpass a full timer knowledge wise and business wise while only having 1 foot in the door and not putting in as much time and effort as them?  

Factor in trash, electricity, water for the common spaces, insurance and your debt service alone will surpass that amount.

So not only am I pre-screening the showings, but the type of person looking at these properties is not the same kind of people that look at $800/month and they are in B type neighborhoods.I suppose this could backfire someday but I think the amount of time and money I save will quickly surpass the highly unlikely event that someone will damage/vandalize/steal from the property.At some point I might hire this out but for now it seems to be working.

Which So Cal market did not surpass their peak?   

While the Central Texas housing market is healthy and thriving, Austin continues to struggle with housing options that are affordable for first-time homebuyers as the median price surpasses $400,000."

But I will say your pool of people at 50,000 buy-in will easily surpass your needs.