@Kevin Reid LTR: a more passive investment especially once a tenant is in place: mailbox money but generally not as lucrative.

Then you can read a more in-depth book like The Book On Rental Property Investing by @Brandon Turneror The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing by Spencer Strauss.2.

You'd of course want to vet these companies as well, but it could be a more hands off approach to lending out your money. 

It's certainly a more conservative way to go about it, but have you considered putting less down (financing) and doing multiple projects at once?

My goals for keeping it as a rental unit would be to:1) diversify investments to include stable, income-producing real property2) gain experience as a landlord I'm confident the property would rent, but I'm concerned that a historic Trinity might require more time/money to profitably manage (vs. a more contemporary home), because of the age of the property and the quirky layout and maintenance needs. 

The reason is simple – a market with strong and steady employment trends attracts more people to live in the area, a higher demand for apartments and other types of multifamily housing, a stronger tenant base, and therefore a more reliable investment.

In my market, one bedrooms typically consist of a more transient population and there is extremely high turnover.

.#11(freebie) It has helped bring me to a more comfortable and content point in my life (as long as I do not have multiple flips going on at one time....

I wish I had a more optimistic view but it does not look good.

Some lenders, particularly smaller, local places, are often willing to a bit higher on LTV or work with you in other ways that a larger institution might not.If you have going for a more standard 70-75% LTV, most rates should be pretty competitive between lenders, though.