It might be just as expensive as your current carrier though...You need to speak to an Independent Agent that can shop the market for you.

Prime is more expensive but offers a bit more robust documents, etc.

In some cases you will find grossly mismanaged deals with bloated expenses which can easily be fixed to boost NOI or in other cases it could be that some units were offline for several months because of a fire perhaps which hurt revenues.

OOS investing is more expensive.

Aside from downpayment, you want to have a solid emergency fund in place, something that can cover unexpected repairs, vacancies, or any other random costs that pop up.I’d also recommend saving more than you think you'll need and keeping a close eye on your expenses.

I just did a quick search of the area and there appears to be an ample supply of properties with an average rent of approximately $1.10/SF.

Knowing the average bP buy and hold investor this type of information would be for advanced investors that deal in the back end of real estate not the front end like most who just want to buy a house for under market rehab refi rent or flip. 

My contract with my property managers requires my approval for any expense over $500.

Real estate investing is forgiving; the average person can still make money even with some big mistakes.

Mostly due to the fact my spouse and I agreed on her to have zero involvment in any sort of RE investing (and its our home) I think once you have a good 6-12 months of reserve cash (operating expenses for your own life saved as a back up incase things go bad) save enough liquidity to get the ball rolling on your first invesment.