That’s often easier said then done but that’s gonna be your best bet.

However I fail to see how this is true at the scale at which I would be capable of buying...in my price range the properties would not be large enough to merit their own on-site Management, unless maybe I just bought one and bet my entire future on it.

Many people prefer this type of investment to the potentially more involved route of direct real estate ownership with their plans.

My understanding, as an investor who is not an attorney, is that a properly formed and maintained LLC would protect you from personal liability for anything involving the activities of the LLC.However, if you get a loan to buy the property, you will almost certainly have to personally guarantee the loan which means you could be liable to the lender if it had to foreclose and lost money in the process.As far as the loan showing up on your credit report, that has almost nothing to do with the form of ownership of the property (personal vs.

The way it looks, both interior and exterior, may be involved in the sale and the sales price. 

Yes but most likely will need to replace since it involves a turn-around effort.

Make sure your tax person is leveraging every advantage for you in terms of depreciation schedules on furniture, maximizing your involvement as an "active RE investor", etc, etc.Finally, as you build your team of PM, cleaner, handyman, etc. make sure you retain a fair amount of control.

In some markets, Realtors are not willing to drive tire kickers around (which some people who would get involved in this program would be) if they are not sure they are going to buy something.

I am still learning about REI (a little late to this party, I should've been learning about it much sooner) but it seems like OOS would be our best bet for monthly cash flow. 

Your vision and desire to even dream of doing a project this big, your resourcefulness to put all the pieces together, the ability to sell your idea and yourself, your honesty & integrity with everyone involved, your willingness to pay off your debts and make the hard sacrifices and your humility to share your experience are the ingredients of  super sucessful entrepreneurs.The things you've learned from this experience will help you for the rest of your life.