Pursuing a SFR in the fashion I mentioned above would be more amicable, but this depends on your ability to enter.   

It can be helpful to have that old fashioned sit down like you said, but it's no longer necessary. 

Finding information this way is often faster when necessary information couldn't be obtained directly through the internet.That's the old fashion way of doing things before the internet.  

If it could do it what it claims to do in a more streamlined and organized fashion, it could be decent. 

I think that's about how that goes.But I hear you LOUD and clear  I just cringe when I think of someone shooting all their bullets in any fashion buying what are the highest risk rental assets in the US..

Maybe i should find me a good old fashioned whole saler - (more fix and refi/rent or fix and flip) in that realm however.  

Call me old fashioned, but real estate is an income producing physical asset.

Getting all corrections made at once and an expedited fashion, for example city asked for 10 things to be corrected by designer, get plans back get all corrections made within one to two days (this is a slow process at times, sometimes this is one of the biggest time killer).

call me old fashion but if you are sifting through deals, the number 1 thing I look at is market dynamics.

If you're not already, I'd do some old-fashioned in-person networking.