I'm a mechanical engineer and work full-time while my wife stays at home raising our family.My goals are to have passive income from properties & investments to replace my full-time job. 

So I have a listing on an auto garage listed at $275000.

@Dan Heuschele All the mechanicals are brand new and the roof is in excellent shape so I do not foresee any major issues arising.

Further, Murphy's law is going to pay a visit to some of these investors, what mechanisms will you have to deal with when somebody wants out?

This lead to the industrial revolution in America over two decades that added TV, radio, autos, planes, roads, etc. the currency manipulation created 40 golden years of prosperity.That prosperity faded in the 1960s when the Republicans overspent money on wars and the Democrats overspent money on social programs.

Passive income has always been my aim, and I'm understanding that real estate will be the mechanism and vehicle thru which I can achieve that aim throughout my next decade(s).I drive around residential neighborhoods on a daily basis and have begun "driving for dollars", or at least identifying potential wholesale properties.  

@Cory Mccarthy I recommend Bill Kaiser with All Weather Mechanical.

Of course if your plumbing to the STREET is brand new and you have new pex... you have new wiring new roof New mechanicals.. the rest of cosmetic if the house has good bones.. that helps for sure. its hard to make a case study with just one home.you could also have one were the tenant left at 5  months and did 5k of damage.or you could be buying in Dallas area and have your foundation go wonky and spend 3 to 5k fixing it .. which happens on almost all homes in that area. etc etc  some of this is regionalize for sure.

I had just hoped that someone would know some legal maneuvering, where we could put a mechanics lien against his property or similar

@Julie Marquez there isn't really a mechanical difference caused by having tenants.