Why not move somewhere that has proper employment so you can earn and save money?

Self managing would save you that $100 each month to allow you to make the rent more competitive.You also always have the ability to sell the unit if it becomes too much of a hassle and move the capital gains to another asset.Best of luck.

Save or invest asap?

My income from my job should allow me to make payments on it if I do not have enough saved up from the rent. 

If they're not great savers then a lease option can be a forced savings plan for them to make sure they have enough equity to close.

It is pretty amazing stuff. 80+% of our leads/rentals come from online lead generation so it is very efficient and we text message the vast majority of leads which saves tons of time. 

Hi everyone,I'm 22 years old with about 40k in savings and 5k in debt.

Flat fee brokers will save money, but may not get the top price, since service is usually pretty lacking. 

It can save you thousands on taxes as well as future liability problems. 

If it works for you, it really doesn't matter what any other investor on the planet happens to think about it.