And how can we align our approach to meet those expectations and improve our chances of securing financing?  

Ultimately, clear communication and expectations handled in a respectful manner can avert any issue.

The inventory is still very tight, and expected to remain that way. 

@Tayvion Payton here's some useful info:Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

Quote from @Kody Smith: without getting too deep into my finances, what my strategy is...1. take loans to buy properties (leverage)2. fix/flip for day to day cash flow income3. use some of the fix/flip income to buy consistent cash flow through:- business acquisition, - commercial properties (MF and store fronts),I have no intention of doing ALL of the management myself, I will hire management as needed (medium term goal)my expected core role is money provider, evaluating the numbers, making decisions, and connecting with investors, wholesalers, lenders, contractors, and property owners.while I am just on step 2 of the journey, I am looking toward step 3 to stabilize, and not worry about if house prices drop mid project or not (or not worry as much) So to be fair this is more about obtaining and growing a real estate business not simply buying rentals for cashflow.

@Shakthi Kamal read copy and paste advice below.For cashflow, you'll be looking at mostly Class C properties/tenants.Be SURE you UNDERSTAND what this means or your expectations won't match reality!

@Venka Pulla It’s frustrating when a property manager isn’t meeting expectations, but transitioning to a new property manager is typically straightforward if you follow a few steps:Review the Management Agreement: Carefully read your current Property Management Agreement (PMA) to understand the termination process, including any required notice period.

keep it to 1 page is my best advice and simple. have financial returns broken out beforehand 

I would make sure that in that scenario you're hitting your ROI expectations.

These guru's pitch get rick quick with no money down, so people "want to be investors" but fail to start because they had unrealistic expectations from day 1.