My wife and I do extra rooms out of our primary house and we are located right next to wine country, pretty much every weekend we are booked. 

In summary, the hardest part was literally 'pulling the trigger' and I've learned not to worry over a few extra thousand when buying a home because in the long run, paying a few thousand more to win a bid may net me 10s of thousands (long term) in equity/rent collection. 

Some extra details...

They give me 10% down cash (cashier's check) so usually $15k to $25k up front.

It has some extra paperwork, can be little annoying at the closing.I got 5 sfhs from homepath, it wasn't too difficult.

They usually have a good heloc product.Happy Investing...

Usually they are extremely helpful and have a very good idea of what market rent would be for that place within $25 or so. 

They're either the developer who built the property, or owners of vacant or occupied buildings who submitted and completed a conversion plan that can now sell units to end buyers.When they mention a sponsor package, instead of selling units individually, they sell a number of units, in this case, in packages of 19, usually at a discount to selling individual units.

I help out clients part time (usually investors become I enjoy investing so much), but 3-6 single family homes per trade for rentals and get to look at homes on the market at will.

The idea is to own enough rental property to support me when I need the extra help, fund my retirement, keep my parents healthy, and take care of my possible future family.