I would agree it is hard to find beautiful properties that cashflow.  

I don't agree either for previously stated reasons. 

@Marie CopulI agree with @Marcus Auerbach that you are in a great position as a high W-2 earner. 

Agree with this post!

However, just because I don't agree with it doesn't mean I am in favor of the Government being given additional power to enforce additional laws and restrictions that infringe upon our freedom.

Once you start to find something wrong with almost every deal but finally find one that really makes sense, run it by your mentor to see if they agree it is a good deal.

I overall agree that right now most real estate doesn't make sense for a hobby investor.

Agreed on spending money, I would be asking the owner to purchase all of the smart locks himself as an investment into the property. 

I spent a decade in advertising, before founding and running a custom wood shop for another decade, so 'm pretty good at the self-promotion.I agree with you that the more gorilla approach would be most effective and that's actually what i've been doing – calling RE agents in my service area with active listings, introducing myself to property managers and leasing agents...To answer your question, I will have to handle the work myself for 6-12 months to build out the SOPs and field service management systems, but I have a lot of relationships for those looking to "do the work".I'll check out the meet up and would love to grab a cup of coffee, I'll shoot you an email.

In many cases, the contractors who agree to that kind of thing are either inexperienced, desperate or scammers.