Instead of sending direct mail to find a motivated seller for a house hack deal, has anyone tried calling places listed as For Rent and asking if they would be interested in selling instead?

I definitely suggest keeping friends/family out of the situation unless you know for certain, or have incredibly high chances of it working out!

This will provide you with more stable income and accelerated learning vs. trying to build your own business while competing against people twice your age with far more experience, hustle, and the motivation of feeding/housing a family.I know one person that started real estate at 18, made a successful business, and is still in it 30 years later.

We have incredible returns and plenty of investors wanting to jump in with us...But..The management of these properties is killing me.

You said you are excited to start and that's great motivation.

Say I find a motivated seller, and we agree on a price.

Just watch out if the PM has any special relationship with the contractor you're using which could muddy their motivations. 

@Gabe Sasser that is some incredibly helpful advice if I go the Indy route, much appreciated!

The newcomer must "survive":Streamline the search for motivated sellersSearch for investor-buyers and add them to the mailing listSecondary task.

If I were in your shoes, I would focus on building an incredible pipeline in your business first.