The initial lack of people attending the open houses was a combo of a few things (school in session, trial and error for automating and improving processes, price which we then reduced, 2 bedrooms).

In any such proceeding, the parties hereby waive any objection to forum including, without limitation, any objection based on lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue, or inconvenient forum.

You have already made several unforced errors (making habitual late payments of 3-4 days acceptable, not sending an immediate pay or quit notice upon non-payment of rent, communicating with the tenant directly) and you seem to lack the constitution required to handle the reality of landlording. 

I would tread lightly, I know that this seems like a great opportunity but I would consider partnering with someone on this if this came to fruition as your lack of experience could be a detriment to the project. 

Sprout seems to be one that keeps coming up, but after seeing their terms, it seems a little steep. 6.0-7.5% and 2 points, buyer paid comps, and 3 year prepayment penalties (the fees are killer, a higher interest rate is expected).We are in a credit/W-2 income range that doesn't need to settle for subprime rates unless, of course, it is out of a lack of diversity of product. 

The forum is a great place to search for additional clarification on topics and if you can't find the results you're looking for (the internal search functionality is lacking on the site, direct search on Google is better) then I do encourage you to ask your questions as the resources here are abundant for being able to help.Cheers!

I am humble enough to know that I MAY lack the necessary communication skills.

Some people just lack the basic discipline of paying bills on time and don't care.  

I'm having a hard time quantifying the positives of new construction due to lack of comps.

Another reason our occupancy fluctuated was because lack of marketing of the property.