As Dawn Anastasi said above she isn't in this to become a multi millionaire , but her goal is to have more time while earning a mostly passive income ( versus working a full time job at least ) As they say, " different strokes for different folks " I recently heard that most people on their deathbed don't regret not being at work more.

I'm a little unsure about how this system works, and of course, being cheap/frugal/ whatever, I hate to waste money.  

They have great systems, are very good at pitching and convincing people to sell to them, and you can probably learn a lot by watching their approach. 

Contact the staff to acquire the leads you want within there unique system. 

Divide those costs up over the remaining number of years of life for those major systems, and then add a bit more because while you may want the heating system to fail at the end of its life, Murphy's Law says it will fail years before then, so you better start saving.If you do go through the purchase, I would treat those capex dollars as spent dollars and put them aside in a separate account.  

Then - plan for capx like roofs, windows, driveways, siding, HVAC systems.  

http://www.har.com/content/newsroomHouston Real Estate Highlights in April Single-family home sales declined a fractional 0.6 percent compared to last April;On a year-to-date basis, single-family home sales are up 1.6 percent;Total property sales declined 2.0 percent to 7,583 units;Total dollar volume fell 1.6 percent to $2.01 billion;At $278,544, the single-family home average price was down 1.0 percent compared to last April;The single-family home median price rose 3.3 percent year-over-year to an all-time April high of $217,000;Single-family homes months of inventory climbed to a 3.6-months supply versus 2.9 months a year earlier;Townhome/condominium sales fell 12.6 percent with the average price up 4.1 percent to $206,832 and the median price up 7.3 percent to $153,450;Leases of single-family homes leapt 18.1 percent with rents up 2.6 percent to $1,811;Leases of townhomes/condominiums soared 26.0 percent with rents down 1.7 percent to $1,574.

Yes, the equity would help with the move, but we do have a small saving and good support system in place.

Who/what do you use for a system of checks and balances to make sure that your Manager is on top of renting/quick turns/collections?)

Have you spoken, with the current Management Company, to ascertain if there is any existing maintenance that have been deferred such as roof replacement, window replacement, major electrical and plumbing systems, etc.?