I'll make an attempt at an analogy that will hopefully shed a little more light on some of your questions...Hiring a property manager is similar to hiring a general contractor for a big, complex, multi-staged job. 

I am attempting to qualify for a loan on an investment property at .....

After multiple attempts to repair the existing system I finally called out JES, a waterproofing company, who installed a $7,500 drainage system under the foundation.

Simply living below your means (staying in that house) and investing in mutual funds for a few years and you could both retire early. 

@Colby White I use it for total costs, but you can use it in whichever manner makes it easier to quickly evaluate deals.The 1% rule is simply a " deal funnel" tool.

Im just struggling with how to price the market for rental where I live due to it being an old paper mill town or just attempt to sell it and be done with it..., I have reservations on renting a complete rehabbed brand new home to just anyone.

@Travis Walker I agree with @Simon W. see what you can afford. but to answer your question simply, i was also in debt with student loans, car, etc and i chose to invest in real estate anyway. yes its a risk but if i waited till im debt free id be waiting forever because its always hard to take the leap. with real estate on the side, i paid off my debt a lot faster.

@Kelvin Letron Brantley like @Chris Mason said, most HML will look at your credit simply to determine the risk of missing payments.By nature, hard money loans are asset based.

If I were you I would simply buy a duplex in Shaker that is already in great shape.

That you'll likely need to do on your own unless you can offer some value to a partner here on the ground.I'd be shocked if anyone is going to just offer their time, expertise, and hard work to you simply because you asked (I personally won't).