Part of me says if I currently have close to $17K in annual positive cash flow, after expenses and vacancy's, repairs and cap ex held out, that I should pick up another 2-3 house to get that cash flow over $25K. 

@Marcus Rodger, I see every limited value in a lot fo books, especially about things like gearing and tax as the laws change frequently.In the NZ market the basic precepts are fairly simple.If you can afford to negatively gear safely and you have decide it is a safe enough strategy for you then pick the market with the highest likelihood of capital growth, which is generally, Auckland, Wellington and Hamilton, and start investing.There are markets where you can still buy cash positive in New Zealand but you need strong local knowledge and good boots on the ground to buy well in many of those smaller areas.

They somewhat pretend to have your best interests at heart but in reality want you to agree to a price as quickly as possible.Sometimes I even get the feeling that they collude with the sellers agents to strategize on the offer i’ll accept the quickest.What do you guys think?

The positive for you the buyer is the low down payment. 

Overall very positive feedback from tenants about using these locks; I haven't had any issues

The level of service you will most likely get using "flat fee" services will be best described as "half-assed", you probably already know that, and the lackadaisical approach may lead your property to have negative exposure instead of the positive exposure it needs.

And we didn't just slow down the cash burn, we stopped it :) Looking at all their income and expenses, they will be cash flow positive annually. 

You might be in a good position to buy for cash, then cash out finance. 

I have seen a lot of this one BP were investors have no clue as to the repercussions of being a junior.. its OK if you know what your doing .. but for the average investor who has never lent money or new to the game junior position investing is highly risky for exactly the reasons splained above.  

The only thing you have to be careful of is him saying well you let it go on all this time, so the notice is a good idea to establish your position early.