I typically don't include a washer and dryer with my units, because they can be a service nightmare.

To get an idea, plug in a mortgage calculator for the house price that is typical for that area. 

Because then your equity is essentially just buying your cash flow.

@Rodney ThompsonAs someone who owns contract for deeds - typically when a borrower is looking to sell they are in default.

Typically they are once a month in a local city near you

I live in Auburn Alabama and the market here is pretty crazy so I have been looking at surrounding cities like Montgomery and Birmingham that are bigger and more affordable.I know that the typical down payment someone’s needs for commercial is 25% so short of me getting seller financing, or a partner, or some other creative finance path my purchase power leads me towards properties that are typically in lower income areas- at least for the ones I’ve spotted. (200K ish) I’ve listened to pretty much every podcast multiple times and often hear people saying that when they begin they focus more on cash flow and as they grow they look more towards appreciation opportunities.

Another very common DIY mistake I see in LLCs are people using operating agreements and certificates of formation designed for disregarded entities and partnership entities, which typically automatically disqualify the entity from electing S-Corp status.

Essentially, hopefully no personal capital except down payment. 

Is it true that RE companies that claim to provide leads really only have weak web leads that have a very low conversion rate and are essentially worthless?

A "quit" not "quick" claim is a (typically bad) manner of transferring property.