All in all the damage was very minimal and most of it just needed fresh paint or cleaning.

We acquired more rentals, but slowly and with minimal debt.

I figured it was going to be some sales pitch to buy something else.

I realize that you want to have as little out of pocket as possible when purchasing properties (to minimize your risk) but at the same time if the markets ever turn south you won't be over leveraged (or am I seeing this thing clearly).

Since I am young and do not have a financial responsibility to take care of my family I am not very risk averse but am always looking for ways to minimize risk as any investor would.

David, while I felt I was getting an under the radar sales pitch to some program, to the points you made I must agree. 

Now for smaller properties, the damage is arguably minimal.

No heavy sales pitch, just a description of how the program works. 

If you have a lot of capital to deploy and only a minimal amount of time and energy to devote to "managing your investments", then you may put more down to mazimize the cash flow from just a couple properties.  

Neither is really "passive". even HML involves underwriting the deals you're getting pitched and making sure you have recourse on the loan.