I can live happily with just a bed, food, and my laptop! 

But they are generally entry level younger people at a boring job. if you havent been 'encouraging' them with daily communication, I would encourage you to do so with with your point of contact. they may not be doing the necessary follow up needed to get a tenant in the home. and you inquiring everyday will most likely encourage them to do the necessary follow up.

Housing is a very important bill for many families to pay, but it still comes behind food.  

An NSF Fee was charged as well as additional daily late fees.

Within those cities, I am targeting assets in central business districts (CBDs) and popular entertainment areas where large amounts of people congregate daily. 

Start by networking with other investors on BiggerPockets who are active in those areas, and make a habit of browsing Zillow and other platforms daily.

I've been reading every real estate book I can get my hands on and listening to podcast daily.

The good agents, PM's and lenders can pinpoint the risks and often do both in these forums and in their daily business but they are the minority (if you happen to have them in your rolodex,  hold on to those relationships, they will prove invaluable over time). 

If oven, washer, dryer go out, I would pay them some money for during the week for food to eat out or laundromat, and then fix on the weekend.As you said you're in the learning phase.

Its a tight market for sure but theres many good opportunities on a daily basis, hopefully you found something that fits your buying criteria in the time frame that this was posted.