I'd like to give them a lot of the equity so that they're incentivized to keep the property up in exchange for financial help with the downpayment and for a lower management fee.

One thing that I read/hear again and again is that going into buy and hold, you really do want a larger financial cushion. 

I don't have time but I do have financial resources. 

What does that mean - it means that you can take all the classes you need to be a successful investor, manager, financial planner, ethics and legal reasoning etc with the only penalty being you get a grade less than desired and of course you are spending for college.

You want to build your investments on a stable foundation, you can not do that with bad debt pulling you down.Additionally to be a successful investor you must be financially highly structured.

Like many others, I've been looking for additional avenues in which to gain financial independence so that I might have more time to spend with my growing family. 

Financial, medical etc.

Does anyone have experience with post-disaster job/investment opportunities that could shed light on how these opportunities could be seized, and in an ethical way?

You need to convince the seller or his agent that you have the financial capacity to execute the transaction.  

You might consider teaming up with a mortgage broker to send a mailing to "Renters with high income and high Financial Stability Scores (FSS).