He has a nice operation going on the south side. 

That's typically the way I operate.

I am a computer geek by training, but I am interested in generating passive income so that my family can have financial security and the opportunity to travel and have adventures (without the day job). 

You will get a better idea of how different pm companies operate As Yours is a Multifamily rental , you will need to keep a tight leash on operating expenses

In announcing plans for the center earlier this year, they described the new operation’s objectives this way: “Modernizes the Army for the future… will integrate the future operational environment, threat and technologies to develop and deliver future force requirements, designing future force organizations, and delivering materiel capabilities.”The Futures Command center is expected to lead innovation for the Army’s top six modernization projects, including improvement to its tactical missile system, combat vehicles and helicopters, defense teams and weapons.Army officials indicated they were seeking a high-tech, creative culture for the location, rather than a traditionally structured Army post.

It has been months now that investors have been complaining about the lack of transparency, the failure of their investments, the fact that what is being said on the CM podcasts are completely different than the experience on the ground and it is documented that rather than assisting people that bought based on his recommendation and bought directly from him, he is laying the blame at the feet of others and claiming to be a victim himself.That has been going on for a very long time and now you tell a story of having bought two properties in March with the exact same issues that were being complained about last year.At this point, it is a choice by this company to operate this way. 

I have a propensity to take the risk if there is a greater reward and I am looking to generate returns for a longer-term time frame of 5 - 7 years.How would I go about making my investment decision to deploy this 30k purely as an investor?

Just put that in the partnership agreement or operating agreement. 

If you have lower return targets than I do, then perhaps there are lots of properties that generates ok returns. 

Why not buy the house youd like to live in with the land at a price point you can afford and then generate as much extra income as possible from the land.