I've implemented a direct mail campaign for the past 4-5 months (with limited success I feel - 1 deal and about a half-dozen "good" leads, with a bunch of tirekickers) and feel that I'm ready to tweak and/or scale. 

I am trying to get a general idea in order to limit risk and figure out where most success has been experienced.

One bad tenant or an unexpected roof leak can decimate your return.2) The biggest determinate of an investment's success is property manager (also referred to as operator).

If you nail those down, and are willing to hustle, you'll be very successful

Hopefully I will have a success story to share soon!

I've searched existing posts with little success.

The decisions you make at the beginning of your new venture have a major impact on your success.

I stayed on the phone with them for 5 minutes to long today and all in all came very close to signing up with these guys.There are testimonials of their success stories and undoubtedly there are people on here who can succeed with them.

Are fellow syndicators aiming to achieve this as an average over the life of the deal or from day one of the deal?

If you're really interested in creating a new business, use those HOA dues to make a new investment, maintain it yourself, and forge your own success - it will be well worth it.