This may be an unpopular opinion on a real estate forum (especially given that two other agents posted before me), but you always want to have cash reserves for life's surprises.

You need to be able to purchase the property and have a reserve to handle what life throws at you.

My wife says I have perfected the military scowl, which is  weird as I was never in the service, even though people ask me all the time if I was.Ask me about something I'm passionate about and you can't shut me up.

They fit the bill of reasonable cost, decent turnaround time, helpful service, and they're great people to boot! 

I simply sent all the load docs to the service and they handled everything. 

@Jeremiah Gaviña join the national guard reserves part time, get a va loan with 0 down payment, then house hack your way into real estate.

In my opinion if you can get enough down payment it may be better for you to finance them, hold a mortgage, and hire a loan servicer, you can even have the tenant pay the $15/mo for servicing.

Such IRA-owned LLC entities cost more to setup initially, but eliminate most all transaction fees with the custodian and give you much more control over your investments.IRA Services used to be good. 

Thanks you for your service protecting us and our nation!!

The roof is the concerning part; Down payment would not tap me out and I would have plenty reserved for emergencies; When it comes to my schedule, I am going to shore duty so I will have a lot of time to self manage and that is what I want to do.