This means that saving $15K is out of the realm of possibility for those people.

Even if you wanted to save that expense, you should "pay" yourself that amount by allowing for it as part of your expenses.The problem is: a bad Property Manager will cost about the same dollars as a good one - but your expectation of positive investment returns could be reliant on finding/being a "good one"!

I have always had an interest in building a rental portfolio for supplemental retirement income.

hello to all. just a quick description of myself. i am a real estate investor working in the western New York area. i have been doing this in this area for 12 years now, with many successes. i am a licensed home inspector, work as a handyman for a local property management company, and currently own several investment houses. i can safely say that i know the area quite well. given my home inspectors experience, i feel very confident in my ability to judge the condition of a house and evaluate the rehab to bring it back to a marketable condition. having a degree in accounting, i feel quite confident in my ability to manage the numbers part of the transaction as well. having recently passed a course in furnace installation and repair, i feel i can safely replace appliances such as the furnace if need be and a water heater if need be, saving large sums of money in the rehab. he is what i am looking for. i am looking for a HML to fund my latest find. a 4 bedroom, one bath house with two stall garage in a family neighborhood that i currently own 2 houses in and have purchased more in the same neighborhood in the passed. 

I can tell you what people here have done to set themselves up for retirement.

We are hoping to purchase a couple of rental properties to supplement our income as he officially retires (for the third time).

Yes I'm "house hacking" to save money to purchase my next property.

Maybe start with a small amount of bandit signs and cycle them in areas while saving for a serious DM campaign.Hope this helps. 

Don't forget vacancy, maintenance, special assessment savings ( and/or Cap Ex.)

Run the numbers by him and see if it is worth pursuing... there is a good chance he already knows about the park and can guide you, or save you a headache.