I cover mainly Houston, TX but do deals virtually all over the nation.

Verify EVERYTHING for yourself unless they are partnering with you and investing their own money - not just time.Use Google Streetview to virtually check out the neighborhood - pay attention to how old the pics are.Don't believe Zillows Rent Zestimate - use Zillow's rental view to zoom in and evaluate asking rents in the area - try to compare apartments to apartments, not SFR to apartments.

Under the Legislature’s misleadingly named “Good Cause Eviction” bill, all sorts of renters will be allowed to remain in their rentals FOREVER giving landlords & owners virtually no recourse, not even to sell!

Your plan seems high risk, but maybe you know something this amateur keyboard warrior doesn't.

I'd love to connect for a little bit this week to learn more about what's working in the counties east of Chittenden that you mentioned.Please DM me if you'd be willing to set up a virtual meeting sometime during the next week.Thanks!

This could be in real life or virtually, whatever works. 

Other people, like me, were virtually ruined by shiny object syndrome.As @David Lilley said so well above, I found that the best way to invest in lots of different arenas is to stay passive.  

@Dylan Eldred this would be awesome, is it in person or virtual?

I have more money than time, so I definitely should be hiring out virtually all of the tasks but still end up doing a lot of handyman tasks.I think it is great that you have learned this lesson on what you value and seem poised to act in accordance with what you value.  

In Newton it will be virtually impossible to meet the 1% rule, and I would instead focus on whether the properties are cash-flow positive (ideal), cash-flow neutral (acceptable) or cash-flow negative (not good).