A full blown business with employees need's to charge at least $52 per hour to cover evertything from insurance to workman's comp. 

Hi - I am W-2 employee for commercial real estate broker. 

If your wife has a good job she can qualify for loans.Here’s what I did: I was a full time, salaried, W2 employee.

I am a federal employee and the government shutdown really affected me emotionally.

in that sense I can think of the ideal landlord-tenant relationship as one of mutual benefit, with some goals aligned and some differing.My goal is tenants to  adhere to the contract, I do my part, they pay on-time, I have a good relationship with them (I don't tell them I'm a LANDLORD, I tell them I'm a civil engineer, an employee working for someone else, and that I have been a tenant so many times before).  

If you have income from your own business (with no employees) you could open a self-directed solo 401K which I prefer over a self directed IRA. 

Why not harness technology to revolutionize real estate procedures?

At some point, say X properties, it may make sense to bring on a full time employee.

I do think that tenants are more like "valued employees" rather than "customers."  

Not only did no one buy it, but I also had to pay extra to remove it because I don't have time to show the recycling company employees why I put the appliances, (they refuse to enter my property without my presence).