You are smart to be thinking of this aspect.  

The seller is smart I will say, and is giving you permission to assign the contract but is making sure they are getting paid. lolHappy investing

I feel like it's a tool that I need in my tool belt but I've got to be smart about where I'm allocating time.  

I roughly make 55k a year and have about 20k in savings (minus 7k for the down-payment)Would/does this seem like a smart move acquiring this place?

I am a software developer by trade and am blessed to have an excellent career with a decent salary that leaves me with some disposable income that I'm hoping to put into some smart investments to generate passive income.

Very smart!  

Your networking in Phoenix is the smart to do with people you trust and will help you to reduce your traveling.Do not trust anybody unless you know them well.  

The reasons the big boys are the big boys because they are smart and have teams that study this for a living and know it like the back of their hand.

However when gold can be used as a currency the way this technology allows, why not use both?

I did not read the contract and trusted my business partners that they knew what they were doing (one had 28 properties, the other had LOTS of money) and I thought they were smart enough people that I would not need to do that myself.