It simply is a metric to measure that your odds of getting a return are better.

Additionally, as long as you put 20% down, it typically keeps you safe in terms of cash flow, and then you simply have a couple dozen houses with tenants paying off your mortgages.

(With your stellar reply, you gave me courage. lol) You did a good job of writing a reply that was more realistic than simply cheerleading somebody to push themselves forward to being a guest on podcast faking it till you can make it.

The question that I'm mulling over is, "Do I step in to fill that need, since I have the property management experience and contacts prior, or do I simply pursue investing and manage my own properties?"

I can definitely attribute a lot of my success over the last few years due to the connections I made on Bigger Pockets and the things I've just simply learned by listening to and reading all the great info available here!

Assuming you can get another tenant you don’t win by making them stay.

Sadly there is so little inventory that many are simply trying to last as long as possible and wait for the constable to tell them that the moving trucks are here for them. 

The only way you can break that log jam right now is severely lowered fed rates, but the level of federal debt is such that they're in a no-win situation because there's going to be little appetite these days for buying 1% fed notes from overseas.The fed rates were kept too low for too long.

Same guy handled a triplex rehab (the one with the theft), and that's where he took money that he simply pocketed or used in some sort of Ponzo scheme to pay off other debts (I have no way to know, but the money did not go to contractors or to continue work at the site).

Finally- you can eliminate 95% of the troubles and risk by simply having professional and legal screening and management processes, so don't sleep on that piece.