But just a few blocks away on G street, my home owning friends complain of loud domestic disputes at night and their cars getting shot at with BB guns.

After renting to MPH and their subleased tenant my home was shot at.

After that idea was shot down I started thinking about putting a metal building on the land and renting a few larger indoor rv spaces.

We will definitely be starting off paying for several hundred leads and be consistently growing that number (though not in huge increments in the first few months) . 

In direct mail you can track KPIs and hone in on certain numbers to deliver consistent results, where as internet, you can to a certain degree if you're really advanced, but its not as easy to measure for the guy getting started.The quality from internet is good when they're good.

Unfortunately, for the single MHP property model, your options for containing legal costs are to: 1) joint venture [all investors in active control of their own money], 2) only allow accredited investors (so you aren't required to have a PPM), or 3) figure out a way to scale up your business model and buy bigger deals or multiple deals at a single shot. 

Unfortunately many people want to get rich quick through Real Estate and are looking for short cuts, avoid the sellers and buyers of the get rich quick schemes/programs plot your course, be methodical and consistent and you'll get to where you want to go.

(preferably with professional property management given that I live over 3 hours away)  At this point, I'm just trying to wrap my mind around how an investment like this would compare to a more traditional buy & hold investment (which is what my portfolio currently consists of). 

Looks like there are a number of people in the Chambana area which are bringing in a consistent cashflow. 

Yes prices have definitely shot up, as has short term rental supply.