I love Florida and would like to hold more performing investments there.

Ie, most residences have a no-business clause in the lease, yet most people nowadays perform some degree of their work nevertheless in the comfort of their home.

be very cautious as you vette them.. but you should be able to get into leveraged deals were your consistently making 50 to 100% or more on your cash.. do that for enough years then start to peel into cash flow units once you have a few hundred grand saved up and you just use a little of that... and or invest with a group and buy repositioning properties that have major upside.. don't get bogged down buying small rentals that have no upside its just way to slow of a way for someone like you to get to where you want to be if your smart enough at 25 to be knocking down 135k a year ) that puts you in the top 3% of all wage earners already... keep focused on that.. remember RE is just not that easy to duplicate those numbers without serious value add..those at buy smaller rentals are looking for a 10 to 30 year plan... and they plan on keeping their day job...

I think that having a partner you trust in a particular area can dramatically improve your performance, especially if you are not living there or don't even have the chance to see the area.I also think that it is very important before you find a partner to experience real estate on your own, so that you have a good knowledge of what investing means.

I'm a believer that real estate should be treated as any other asset class and decisions based on financial returns and performance rather than geographic proximity.

If due diligence is ending and you are undecided it's better to send a letter of termination then let a contingency pass and be in a bad situation having to perform on a contract. 

If your greatest concern is a potential downturn, you've already performed the wisest hedge - buying properties in high-demand locations.  ...and if/when things go south, you have a few levers besides price to keep your properties performing:Providing quality finishes to set you units apart (which you may be doing already, based on your remodel comment).  

Sure there are defects such as the loan is non performing currently or there are other issues to be addressed, but remedying those are what adds value to the loan and makes it salable or a cash flow stream to tuck in your portfolio.

I live in Mesa, which is close to Chandler, and I can see renting a home out for a season like to snow birds or possibly during baseball spring training but never would have expected weekend/weekly rentals as out performing traditional rentals with the high turn over and marketing costs.You have my curiosity,Casey

If you are not able to perform this task on demand, it could become ammunition for the contractor to extend schedule.You might consider adding contingency to both budget and schedule regardless of promises.