-Decide between fixer-uppers, which offer customization and appreciation potential but require more work, or turn-key properties, which provide immediate rental income with minimal effort.Hiring a Property Manager:-A property management company ensures efficient marketing, tenant screening, rent collection, and maintenance.

Remember that effective mail campaigns require multiple touches, and it's important to continue skip tracing to reach absentee owners who may not receive standard mail.If cold calling isn't your preference, consider hiring a virtual assistant (VA) to manage this task for you. 

Just as a reminder in addition to the interest rate, amortization schedule and fixed period of the loan, inquire about: 1) Prepayment Penalties (In case you want to refinance in a few years), 2) Possibility of Rehab Funding, 3) Reserve Requirements, 4) Personal Guarantees, 4) Rate Adjustments (i.e. at the 5 year mark) to understand other variables in the loan product that works best for your project.

Also, consider the lenders lending options as some will require interest only monthly payments for the period that you have he loan and others will set you up with a balloon payment. 

But in majority of cases this should not violate your terms- DSCR requires the property be an investment rental once you purchase it the property can be STR or LTR.

@Sean Gammons rising property values & mortgage rates have ended the "easy days" where you could buy anything and rent for cashflow.You're going to have to look harder or go into riskier investments.Prior to the crash of 2008, seasoned investors would look at 100 properties, bid on 10, to hopefully get one deal accepted that met their ROI and CoC requirements.

The apartments will require about $40k to bring all three up to rentable condition.

As such, those engaged in these practices are required to have a valid real estate broker license.

I think it is reasonable to assume 4% annual appreciation in this area, which means after two years, the property could be sold for ~$635k.Based on the terms of the mortgage, ~$351k will be remain on the loan balance after two years. 

I think we will keep doing what we are doing with making our current required payments.