I may be misremembering this next part, but I recall one of the RTR podcast episodes where he mentions that RTR keeps all the “10’s” and gives the “9’s, 8’s, and 7’s” to the customers.

$540 is not unreasonable for a home of that size and the items you mention.

As mentioned by @Chris Mason, Bridge Loans: These short-term loans can provide immediate financing until more traditional financing becomes available or until the property stabilizes and becomes more attractive to lenders.Interest rates and stipulations may be a pain.Out of the box here and requires a few more research, SBA Loans: Small Business Administration loans can be an option, especially the SBA 7(a) loan program, which can be used for hotel acquisitions.I heard someone  mention - Mezzanine Financing: it involves a combination of debt and equity financing, which might appeal to some investors looking for higher returns.

As someone mentioned, the only thing passive about real estate investing is the tax treatment. 

As Nicole mentioned I'd try going to local RE Meetups to find other mid term investors in Baltimore. 

Thanks, @River Sava , for the mention!

As it relates to lease end dates I've seen two things work here. 1) You can stagger end dates as mentioned above or 2) you can optimize for summer - this works better for us in areas where you see students or families with school age children moving to align with the summmer months.Separately, this is a great argument against month-to-month leases.  

Maybe you already have it, but I didn’t see it mentioned.

Thanks, Haresh I couldn’t find the numbers you mentioned about them online.

There is a certain entitlement mentality and a long-term frustration mindset where they often times will mention repairs previous owners "promised" to make, etc.