I would look at more of fix and flip type transactions to get you nest egg built up..buying low end rentals can be good I have clients that I fund in this space that own hundreds of them..

Do a little bit more posting on the forums so we can get to know more about you also reading the forums and the back an forth between hundreds can be like having lots of mentors.And as always, read the BP blog posts, listen to the podcasts, and the webcasts.

Now, even with all those increases, at a 5% loan, you're saying that there should be enough rent to cover the mortgage and then a few hundred bucks minimum?  

Additionally,  we are hundreds of miles away so it would be difficult to manage it myself so there goes another 25% in mangement fees. 

since we mainly sell our own properties this saves us hundreds of thousands a year if we had to hire a listing broker...

An LLC will really only benefit you if you are sued, so spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars on something that could only benefit you in a scenario you should already be trying to avoid doesn't make too much sense. 

Come up with a few hundred in campaign contributions and hire a lobbyist and maybe you will get invited to the party.  

Any RE attorney will have a lease template already in the can that you can probably use for a couple of hundred bucks.

Should be a few hundred for the year.

Looking over a house it not difficult, but having knowledge of hundreds of components and systems to know what you are actually looking for, takes a major commitment of time and energy.I enjoy the field.