As the say... aim at nothing and you will hit it every time. but I did get a buy and Hold.... 

After reading RDPD, I felt confident that I could generate some passive income to supplement my full-time job as a clinical psychologist (which I do actually love).

Yes, a portfolio loan is what you should aim for but from my experience, the total volume of the loan will matter to your lender. 

My aim is to gain insight into the prevailing market trends and toexplore potential partnerships beyond the first year.

Aim more for something that could also sustain itself (even if not with a huge amount of cashflow) as a traditional rental to be safe.Good luck!

At some point I'm going to sell some of these and aim for better cash-flowing investments... 

You should typically aim for the B/A properties for this strategy. 

Circle Prospecting Around Listings You or Other Agents in Your Office have sold or around active buyers you're working with is the best way to expand your database supplemented with Calling your entire database at least quarterly with updates about the local market and how it can affect their future home goals.

The type of tenant pool that I think you are aiming for do not want to spend Saturdays hanging out with a bunch of washing machines miles away from where they live.

What credit score should I aim for?