I honestly feel bad saying that because anyone that has saved up $25K to invest should be darn proud of what they have accomplished as that's no easy feat. 

Hi Treza,Not sure where you are in the process there, but when your ready to exercise financing options please reach out, it's very difficult to find a ground up program for inexperienced borrowers without having an experienced GC sign on the loan with you which in turn is not easy to find. 

Self managing should be easy, if not then that Realtor can probably help you with the rental side of it. 

It is the Most Hazardous way to buy real estate and not quite as easy as you state. 

It's not quite as easy as renting out two sides of a duplex, but with the right marketing and management you could rent out the extra unit to supplement the mortgage payment. 

If you have three people renting together, combine their incomes into one to see if it meets the 3x requirement.However, nothing is that easy.

Going DIY and self-managing this type of asset from another state may not be an easy task for such a building and neighborhood, it needs more attention (and probably capital).Try an unconventional approach.

Common problem, no easy answer:(We try to allow our owner clients to arrange their own maintenance, but have learned the hard way there MUST be limitations:1) They can't hire our people!

Crooks know properties advertised for rent are vacant and easy targets.Now, if your PMC decided to do self-showings, they should have also taken responsibility for any resulting damages.

Stock picking is gambling pure and simple.