I feel like turnkey is the best place to start for people new to investing and don't have a lot of time to allocate towards the investment process.

@Gene Maryushenko Variable Cost PM is the % of the income allocated to the property management

I am allocating about 10k for each unit, but totalling around 400k.

Your Schedule E losses can go up to $25,000 but if you have expenses that cannot be allocated to the rentals, they show up as a passive loss (that you can't deduct) on Schedule C. 

I'll be working to increase my stock, bond, REIT and note allocation over the coming years, so that my allocation isn't so heavily weighted towards real estate (the opposite of your situation).

You are calculating 5 cuts a day and thinking that is five hours, but don't forget maintenance time, travel time, breaks and allocation for bad weather.

But in principal I agree that you should allocate your money to the area that will give you the greatest return, regardless of whether that is paying off debt or investing in an asset that generates a return (adjusting for risk).

How should I split the allocation between houses given the implication of the note below?

This allowed me to re allocate my monthly funds.

It just means you bring less cash to the lawyer or title company and allocate some of that into the Security Deposit account ... it's merely a virtual paper exercise.