By your 3rd or 4th rehab you will have some trusted contacts and have learned what works in a rental rehab and what does not work (carpets in high traffic areas are work on every tenant turn over).If this is overwhelming than maybe being a landlord is not for you. 

A lot of phone calls, expected much traffic.

I've been searching for parking lots on high-traffic streets and thoroughfares and although I have found many and contacted the owners and/ or property managers of these properties, I've had a ton of trouble getting any property managers or owners to show any interest whatsoever.

There you can verify income, traffic, expenses, etc. 

I actually increased the rent by 15% based on all of the interest and still had more traffic than I could handle. 

Plus the traffic is rather hectic.Yeah, you'll almost definitely need to get a PM if you buy a MFH.Albany is a hike.  

But, since the stairs gets so much traffic, I was thinking about going with vinyl planks for the stairs too.

However, whileit sounds like traffic count is not so important for your existing tenants, know that your future tenants will be similar types of operations and thereby limiting your market.The gym rents are unreliable and more like operating a service than a commercial lease.

If you're going for cheap just get traffic master from home Depot.

The main roads can be very busy here in the peak season and you do not want your guests having to dodge traffic on their way to the beach!