I am not bragging or stroking my own ego here, but I see so many forum posts of people who had a bad experience and talk about how they wanted to quit, or asking people if they should quit.To be honest, quitting has never crossed my mind.  

Ideally I want to find a seasoned vet that needs a hand with some of their legwork in exchange for some advice!

@Cecilia Cobar  Let me know where you guys are looking for properties, and what's your ideal property.  

Your out of the box thinking is great :) I am a big believer in different strokes for different folks and markets.

Although you may be able to buy a distressed home today for less than it's replacement value, it is always ideal to insure for replacement cost.

Ideally it would be best to start with an investor-friendly Real Estate agent. 

Ideally I am looking to connect with a property manager type who can assist me with this minor task, though the person does not need to be a PM.

@Chris Purvis -  Every broker I deal with (I represent buyers in a brokerage) require a pre-qualification letter to be submitted with all offers, and some require a proof of funds as well.  

My schedule is 24 hours on and 48 hours off and I think my schedule could be ideal for managing real estate.

The ideal vacancy rate is 0% and the ideal management cost is 0% of rent.I budget 5% vacancy unless I have other information that indicates I should budget more.