I'd like to have enough money coming in so I can be more selective with the architecture jobs I take on and have a bit more balance in life.

Sometimes they can, and sometimes they can't, and it's really difficult to go back.

Problems I forsee outsourcing:I would find it difficult for a bookkeeper to know which properties to expense repairs for unless they already know my system. 

I suspect there are still some heavy discounts in subprime areas or small balance very rural type markets.. but your not going to get big discounts in markets that are quite firm like west coast etc.. ( unless very rural)...

It seems a little difficult at first when I have no idea how much to expect in repairs, vacancy rate, property management costs etc. 

The interest portion due every month is Exactly the interest rate times the Current outstanding balance, divided by 12, just like a credit card.

I am considering purchasing a single-family home off of Speedway and Arcadia and am having a difficult time finding rental info about the area.

It does make it difficult to find deals though.

If you can not succeed at that you may not be cut out for investing.Learning to save and eliminate bad debt is the best training in preparation to succeed and extremely difficult to do without cash.

@Freddie Williams, if you are going to do a seller carry, I recommend you use a third party servicing company to make sure the payments are being applied towards the balance of the seller carry note.