Gita,At least the way I prefer to do things is to only run accrual based accounting activity on my day to day operations.

Just being active and visible in the areas you want to buy in can work wonders.

I tested out a lot before I landed on my favorite 4 for profitability and ease of putting together.

REITS and stocks are passive and real estate is active. 

RE is a lot more active and involved, even if you hire a PM and a GC which BTW eats up your returns.

I spent a decade in advertising, before founding and running a custom wood shop for another decade, so 'm pretty good at the self-promotion.I agree with you that the more gorilla approach would be most effective and that's actually what i've been doing – calling RE agents in my service area with active listings, introducing myself to property managers and leasing agents...To answer your question, I will have to handle the work myself for 6-12 months to build out the SOPs and field service management systems, but I have a lot of relationships for those looking to "do the work".I'll check out the meet up and would love to grab a cup of coffee, I'll shoot you an email.

We have 3 boys who are actively in sports and the location of the house just doesn't work out for us. 

It is not a set it and forget it thing though, you'll still need to be active and review monthly statements and manage things to make sure everything is running smoothly. 

While the power can't be selectively turned off, it’s really about active management and oversight once the utilities are in the PM's name.

I'm from Leesburg, an active-duty Air Force member, too (retiring soon).