Since then, my life has consisted of BP forums and podcasts, REI/ Business books, and Mentoring from my Boss. 

Make a plan and work the plan, persistence and consistency will win the day.

Due to the nature of the neighborhoods and level of renters that they attract, I am always at low risk as the people I will get consistently have high credit ratings and good incomes.

Do you have some consistent standard that is in your well-crafted lease?  

That's odd though because I reached out to two separate mortgage officers and they both told me the same thing; apparently I need to shop around a little more.I understand that this should sometimes be factored in as the cost to play but consistently after factoring in the water, PMI, lawn/snow potentially, etc., I just couldn't justify it in comparison to a conventional loan on a single family.

Our Cash on cash returns aren't great until year 2-3 though, but our market is historically one of the most stable and rents consistantly rise.

I know a few investors who beat that clock and have become fabulously wealthy making consistent great plays or a few lucky ones.

Consider this scenario: you buy this place, and in the first two months the boiler breaks and needs to be replaced and one of the inherited tenants moves out, leaving behind a unit that can't be rented without new paint and new flooring in at least half of the space (may as well do the whole space so it's consistent throughout, right?).

Should I not mail these leads consistently and instead mail to new and more prospects?  

In addition to my real estate income I work at Sleepys (mattress store) which brings me to about $75,000 per year, but because my job is commission based I need to show 2 years of consistent employment in order for the banks to consider my income which leaves me in a tough spot for a loan.