It's simply economics. 

Early in my career, I performed economic and financial analysis on large real estate transactions.

Painting the countertops could be a very economical way to have the look of the kitchen fetch more rent.

Here are a few things that are important to me (no particular order):The understanding that while you are the property manager you will be managed by meProactive instead of always reactiveTimely financial reporting, timely response to tenant concerns, timely action when tenants break the rules, timely feedback to meBe known and seen by the tenants (do property inspections, find out what is going on before its too late)Be firm but fairHave solid referencesOwn real estate investments (this is very important to me)Expert in fair housing, eviction process, marketing, tenant screening and selection, etc.Have an establish process and vendor pool for a large variety of repairs, be responsive to repair request (doesn't mean all request are granted)Think of it as a partnership (we make money together)Have staff that can step in (can't have a single point of failure)I am sure there are others but this is off the top of my head.

Honestly, owner financing is not something I am not an expert in, so I really can't comment on your strategy, however, I think this is going to be more difficult than you think.As for your REI strategy, I would really take a step back and rethink it.

So, while I have this mentor, and while we are building rapport and trust, as the stakes get higher, my desire to touch base with other experts skyrockets.  

The more agents a company has the more fixed revenues those companies earn on fees they charge the agent to affiliate.There are some really great real estate sales experts out there but they are the not the norm.  

As tax expert, @Steven Hamilton II should be able to explain this clearly. 

I wanted to run this by some of the experts to see if my calculations are in deed conservative or if I just haven't found an acceptable property. 

At least try to find an expert who knows the local market there.