I have started that process they seem to lead me to finished product. they have brought a couple of properties that I like and thinking of brrrr them. does your property managing company vet renters & deal with evictions 

If you have enough lead time you could use something like cozy.co which is now apartments.com

I am under contract and going to close on a personal residence and a 4 unit lead from a direct mail came up and the dude is ready to sell!

My question is, do I lead them in a direction of just putting a nice down payment on a mortgage or buy the house cash in full.

The best lead source I ever found is propertyradar.com and it can do so many things for you it will take an hour to explain.

Landlords mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, so price is the only differentiator.So, the first question they usually ask a PMC is about fees - instead of asking about services and HOW those services are executed.This also leads them to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.

Reducing the buyer pool typically leads to reduced values.Good luck

I would love to help her retire earlier and also get some experience for myself through the process, but I don't want to lead her down the wrong path with her own money.

I am currently working on analyzing deals daily in Texas, trying to increase my potential leads and  speaking with/vetting potential property managers right now. 

I am headed out to meet an OFC potential lead today.