There are low end areas that offer easier price points, and high end, single family and large mult-family, commercial, storage, universities ... 

Your property taxes and repair expenses seem low and unless this is in the Seattle metro a 5% cap rate isn't the greatest on a triplex. 

In some properties I put electric baseboards from Lowes and I was perfectly content with the outcome.

It's not hard- install aerators in sinks which don't have them(and install Water Sense faucets when replacing faucets, they'll use about 15% less water than regular faucets.)Then use low-flow shower heads(go for 1.75 gpm, anything lower will cause unhappy residents.)

I found a company that has construction, management and brokerage under 1 roof and operates in Indy, Charlotte and Kansas City..These markets have population >1 Million with consistent growth; Good jobs and low unemployment, inexpensive houses in working class neighborhoods that create returns of at least the 1% rule and are cities with excellent credit ratings allowing them to invest back into the city.My first purchases 5 years ago included visiting the company and interviewing the employees for the systems they use, inspecting the houses and then reviewing the monthly reports once the purchases were made.

Absolutely you can be a private lender. 

Absolutely, that's only 5.5 units a month. 

Now, if I'm doing my math right, even taking the high-end estimate of the rehab costs and the low-end ARV estimate, you've still got about $105k of potential profit/equity in the deal. 

The rent seems low for a 4bedroom unit. 

The absolute last thing I would do is pay off my house.