And make what I own work for me, instead of the other way around.I am a lender, state licensed, and do mostly residential with some occasional commercial. 

If it were me in your situation, I'd find a cheaper duplex needing some elbow grease & have my sons doing occasional projects to improve the place while they lived there.

If you have family in an area, where someone can just drive by occasionally, all the better.

In addition to Gordon, check out Dave Van Horn who occasionally posts here on BP. 

I will be looking more towards flipping the occasional house if a deal arrises, but I am most interested in buying a property to rent, and then building from there.

All PMs are not created equal and to leave your investment in their hands before you know the ins and outs of the business is going to be tougher sledding than dealing with the occasional phone call. 

Occasionally, a company may have a negative beta (e.g. a gold mining company), which means the share price moves in the opposite direction to the broader market."

If you can be a reliable go-to type contractor who need minimal babysitting and occasionally anticipates the investor's needs ("hey the subfloor is all rotted out in the bathroom, do you want me to refloor over it or I can replace it real quick") or goes above the call ("I'll stick around a 1/2 hour to let the cabinet delivery guys in so you don't have to drive cross town in rush hour just to unlock the door"), you don't need to be rock bottom on price.

@Jacob KravitzI occasionally have notes that we get re-performing again that sometimes sell. 

You're welcome to hang out at our Property Management company occasionally, or ride around to showings, and check out rehabs.