If you're still able to live independently, I cannot stress highly enough the need to find your own exclusive fully self-contained apartment/unit/home. 

So instead of thinking two mutually exclusive categories, think scale, and choose a point that you are comfortable with.

You dont' have to exclusively use the MLS.....Also be careful who you send that list to if you dont' have them under contract.  

The problem my current lender has sighted is that the property has to ALSO be "self-sufficient" and be able to completely pay for the full mortgage (including MIP, taxes, and harzard) exclusively through appraised rental income after applying a 25% vacancy rate.

This gives us exclusive access to sellers that never called another investor.   

I normally deal exclusively with for sale by owner properties.

3 RE investors at a rather exclusive resort started talking and discovered they had a lot in common. 

Your post made me smile :) Estimated repairs at this point are from seeing the property with my agent and are based on the obvious cosmetic repairs/updates needed, but I have an inspector ready to go (good friend of ours), and my agent's contractor whom she highly recommends and uses exclusively (she is an investor also) is at the ready as well should our offer be accepted. 

I am a Realtor in Las Vegas and my practice is almost exclusively remote investors.

A lot of insurances now have exclusion riders, if the property is vacant more than 30 days and then vandalized they won't cover it.