Our cleaner sends invoices at the end of the month for all of the month's cleans, and we pay them via ACH (used to do Zelle until we got big enough that we started getting hit by Zelle transaction limits).This works great for the properties we own.  

Deals are still out there for 20% down, but they're just harder to come by.

Make 100 calls, talk to 10-15 people, maybe find 1 person interested in an offer.

., and pick it up in three days, and in colors and sizes not picked by a homeowner, there is little or no bidding.

@Paul DentingerRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the options.

At least by reporting issues to the City, if the owner/tenant doesn't eventually habdle them, the City may intervene to correct some of the issues.

I received 2 offers.

For that you have to utilize our 2-step program (as referenced  above by @Clint Jusino) or wait the 12 months for a conventional loan. 

As far as cash flow + long term appreciation, that is hard to come by.