I don't think there is anything wrong or unethical with that approach.

I was tired of learning and trying to cover all aspects of how things can go wrong.

I also don’t believe that the 20% pass-through savings you mentioned will count unless you’re an active investor in the project, but I could be wrong on that.While I’m definitely not a fan of investing in REITs, I think the 1099 income you got will already have depreciation losses netted out.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a property appraisal on your speed dial as well.

I've got to be doing something wrong if I'm sending the rental applications to several people and not receiving them back?

So much can go wrong!  

Think of all the things that could go wrong and see if the lease addresses them: unauthorized pets or tenants, early termination, security deposit, lease violations, late rent, eviction, lawn maintenance, parking, etc.5.

If I am wrong, tell me why. 

Would this be posted in the wrong forum?

Since you can probably fix a lot of things yourself you may also save yourself the overhead of hiring handymen for every little thing that goes wrong (which can definitely kill your return).