The deal i'm looking at is 22 units and it's 100% occupied at the moment.  

moments, realizing we had just committed to a substantial mortgage, I had a demanding job, payments etc...

The beautiful thing here is if you get a really good deal on land it really boosts the appraisal and can mean less out of pocket cash. 

My compromise would be to invest in growing areas that are within 90 mins from me- thus Winchester Va & Baltimore MD.Anyway, thanks for taking a moment to read this.

I do have a clarification:When we market to our leads we market as RE investors NOT AGENTS. so quiet a few owners contact us who are open to selling to investor but don't necessarily want to deal with the agent for one reason or another, maybe because of tenants or not wanting to deal with the sales process.So once we find out that they are not motivated to sell at a discount, the next logical thing is to convince them to list with us as agents and that kind of a tricky moment I was hoping to get some insight on.

Beautiful area end gorgeous beach!

I gave my $300,000 move-in ready beautiful vacant home to this large well known local co in Oct 2016.( Ive owned and self-managed another very similar rental in the same subdivision-- since 1998--and it has never had one day of vacancy in 16 years-- rented at $1860.)This professional pm co put all utilities in their name on my new property and turned the hot water heater ON and the Water ON ( even tho the main water cutoff valve is easily accessible in the coat closet beside the garage, the entire 3 months they 'managed it').They let the property sit VACANT OCT-NOVand on their "routine inspection on Dec 1, to make sure hobos had not moved in" they SAW the water heater in the garage was spewing (at full blast) A 20' stream/ fountain of HOT WATERand that the entire finished closed garage was covered COVERED !!

I've never had good luck working with a significant other in the same job, but again, that's me not you.RE is amazing and I see myself eventually becoming full time as well, but for the moment I love my corporate work and it is what funds my ability to be an investor. 

The primary reason people tell me is that I will be able to protect my assets, but if that is my only asset as of this moment then does it still make any sense?

3000 seems steep for a Walnut Creek apartment, you must be in one of the beautiful complexes like Ivy Hill or Brio.