I've forgotten the reason my lawyers had advised against it but usually the people can't qualify for a loan and while I own my properties free and clear, carrying the mortgage doesn't achieve my goal of generating cash so I can reinvest or work on my other projects. 

Guys, I am a GC and I can tell you to stay away from any lead generation services.

We dont know what your cashflow is on the property, but based on the fact you have no reserves and no money to pay the mortgage, I assume it doesnt generate much.

But there is already a metric for that, it's Cash on Cash (CoC).Another way to answer your question is:It does not make sense to calculate ROI by taking NOI and divide it by your down payment because NOI is generated by the whole property which is acquired with your down payment AND the loan from the bank.

Looking for advise. 

But I know that full time agents often do all sorts of wonky / crazy / unusual / ill-advised stuff that has the potential to screw up the transaction when they personally buy/sell, or are representing close friends or family, so that might have something to do with it.

Networking is an amazing way to generate leads and the more people you are top of mind too, the more success you will have. 5.

I have a legal service that generates leases but I found that the document it produces is pretty poor. 

Id advise you to focus on the kitchen first instead of the bathrooms as that will generate the highest ROI on your investment. 

I'd try to find the investor you can work for, to generate money, while improving your score while at the same time, still searching for ways to find a deal to get started.