David, I been on both sides, as landlord, landlord searching for PM, and as a contractor in the IT field.I self manage mainly, and for small jobs, I do have plumbers and handyman handling.

Just a few main tips I have learned so far:1.)

I recommend you ask for Mark Davitz at the branch on West main at the intersection of Frank Scott Parkway West.

I feel the same way, however my first home is definitely going to be a house-hack just so I can live for free and get ahead that way.I've been keeping my eye out for apartments, however my main issue is similar to what Jeff said, I'm having trouble locating motivated sellers who would be open to seller financing or a lease option, LoopNet or Redfin aren't exactly the best sources.

A good goal would be to work up to 6 to 9 months of debt service in reserves. 

What I don't know is if one is quicker than the other - acquiring properties or paying down debt.

There are some platforms that are really good for equity such as CrowdStreet and Realcrowd, and then there are others that are really good for debt, such as PeerStreet., Fund that Flip, etc. 

What I would like to do is find a list of people who are late on mortgage payments and plan on foreclosing their house or selling to make the payment and contact them and offer a 'subject-to' option to basically absorb their debt and rent out the place until a possible refinance in the future to buy more places.

@Cherrell Thomas cash flow is the profit that's left after debt service, property taxes, property management, common utilities (if any), reserves for repairs (small things like leaky faucets, AC servicing, etc), and capital expenditures or capEx (larger things like a new roof,new HVAC, major plumbing overhaul...these are treated differently on taxes, written off over a specified longer period) and other expenses.The first item I mentioned, debt service, is where the answer to your question is.

The main towns most of my clients are looking at are Forest Park and Berwyn right now, although the deals are pretty slim here too.