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.

Within two weeks we were rat free, never to return mostly due to closing the trash can and not placing trash bags on the ground next to the can.Rats don’t just hang out for fun without a food source nearby, they are smart and actually spend most of their day grooming themselves – go figure. 

Any office / technology feesIn exchange you'll get X% commission.

But the more I thought about it, I realized it was a smart idea to reduce risk.