My idea was to buy and hold the 2 properties by paying extra on principal on one and the very minimal on the other.

Is it the best option when you have very minimal to come out of pocket?

My investor (family member) is very anxious to get in and out of this property quickly and wants me to do the absolute minimal possible and throw it back on the market.

In my experience they've put rubber socks over the meter leads and put it back in place, which is minimal protection from the situation above.

In order to be successful in this realm....the key is MANAGEMENT. there are very specific ways things must be done in order to maximize return while minimizing headache.

The pros are: everything is done for you, minimal time/effort required, I think they are smarter because they have a lot of expertise built into them that I would never have on my own, and you can easily own in multiple markets.

They take debit cards & checks for a very minimal fee to me (its free to the tenant), but ... at the renter's expense they can pay with a credit card over the phone, pay with a credit card online OR even do something like Western Union.

This will be minimal effort on your part.

If I am only looking at A & B class neighborhoods, should I expect that properties with minimal repairs needed will usually hover around 2% or lower?

After I transferred to a broker that charged me a monthly desk fee, minimal transaction fees, and let me lower my commissions, I actually started getting decent listings as opposed to just working my butt off as a buyer agent.