Thirdly, while your strategy of self funding the down payments will work, it is not sustainable. 

I invest in Hamilton about an hour away....do you self manage the student rentals or have a PM?

Picked up a triplex with some modest cash flow, and have been self-managing it since then (it's just a few miles from our house). 

Of course your going to have a bummer every now and again but that's RE.. just don't want it to be your first one if you can help it.Let's say you've been arrested for suspicion of murderAre you going to take advice from a paralegal that does divorces or go find the best criminal defense attorney you can find?

Downpayment Funding Sources SavingsHome Equity Lines401K Loans2nd MortgagesRoth IRA self-directed optionsDeal StructuresThe deal structure will be to 1.Acquire the property2.Rehab the property as necessary3.Rent out the property4.Try to keep tenants for as long as possible5.Maintain the property6.Rehab the property during turnover7.Keep repeating until a sale or more rentersExit Strategies 1.Buy and Hold and use home equity lines of credit to fund future deals2.Buy and Hold until the rent is 0.5% of sales price3.Buy and Hold and sell to invest in a down stock market.Team and SystemsTeam RealtorContractorHandymanReal Estate LawyerAccountantMentorThink TankMortgage BrokerTitle RepInsurance AgentProperty ManagerSystems Automated PaymentsAutomated Maintenance Request SystemExample Deals 1.Identify a property, say 100K that can rent for 1200 a month. 2.Rehab the property for 10K within a month 3.Look for renters. 4.Place renter in the home with a year contract. 5.Renew the lease.

Is anyone on BP renting out shipping containers as self storage with any success?

Recording the time needed to self manage will help shape your investment plan going forward. 

In my research, I was reading an article in Forbs about self-made millionaires.

However, caution here: you need to ensure that it cashflow supports  principal+interest+taxes (+PM if not self managing) for the morgage and the loan repayments..good luck

Expensive and may not be worth it: Level it with self-leveling compound.