For the next month, I tried to find a rhythm but struggled find consistency in effort.

the only way i'd encourage you to invest in one of them though is if you're actually going to put time and effort into visiting and building a team and employing some kind of strategy. 

I was determined and wanted something that I could sustain for the long term for my family's livelihood and control the effort I put in and the results I got from that effort.I specialize in sourcing properties for fix and flip investors nationwide (wholesaling, but with real-world experience and closed profitable deals for myself and my investor partners) with a roadmap to acquire rental properties as finances permit.A lot of our deals are currently coming through organic search as I have a background in substantial traffic generation through search engine optimization and organic means.

Note all these require more effort than traditional LTR.  

My goal is to add verbiage within the lease that will decrease any tiffs between tenants for the common spaces and how to set expectations and promote group effort with cleaning the common areas/shoveling snow/personal dishes/shared fridge/laundry/having guests and so forth. 

Of course, on the syndications we put together, we get some compensation for our efforts, so I'll ignore those when discussing my returns below.Of the 11 deals we've had that have gone full cycle, we are averaging about a 40% annualized rate of return. 

Quote from @Jack Krusinski: When my rental properties are in a situation like this, I make an effort to create a structured and aggressive payment plan to help tenants catch up.

This will help narrow your Buy box and make your efforts more fruitful.  

You an invest in a high yield bond fund that returns 6-7% with zero investment of time, effort, or education.   

Put in the effort, build relationships, prove your value, and improve your odds of finding someone to help launch you on your path.