Hey Bryan, I would always be suspicious of anyone trying to convince me to pay more money( a whole lot more) for any service. 

In Orlando & Central FL if you stick around the $75-150K price range you can achieve 1.00% - 1.25% sometimes.

Gives me hope that no matter where I start I can achieve my goals.

Based on what we know and found out from neighbors, although we don't have any abstract evidence, Tenants were misusing the property to run a Prostitution type of business, massages service etc.

I work for a large professional painting company now but am eager to getting back to doing what I do best, and that's running service companies.

Pretty sure BP offers a service?

When you get out of the service, take your degree, your HUGE savings at this point, your family and settle somewhere.

If you focus, you can certainly achieve all your goals with REI!

What service would you recommend to run your credit/background checks? 

@Zachary Miller individual investors are now able to use a service like Show Mojo or Tenant Turner that can help you with the leasing process, scheduling, and marketing out to the 20-30 sites you want to me on.