Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of funds to allocate to my mailings just yet, so I can only do a small batch maybe 100 at a time.  

In short, in real estate you can control how you allocate fixup funds, tenant selection, etc., but lots of variables (as Charles mentions) are beyond an owner's control. 

If your heading down this path, I think the best course of action is to find a home and location you prefer, allocate the cash to fix it up so its very nice (floors, bathrooms, kitchen) and furnish it rental style furnishings which could be another discussion altogether, i.e.

Everything you have above and beyond that can be allocated towards the next purchase.It’s all about leverage..

The University of California has allocated a lot of funding to UC Merced. 

My belief is that real estate will provide superior returns to other asset classes so I choose to allocate my funds there.

See below for how to do that.Step 4: Deduct as Schedule E rental expenses the allocable mortgage interest and property taxes from Step 3.Step 5: If there’s any net rental income left after Step 4, deduct as rental costs allocable indirect expenses — maintenance, utilities, association fees, insurance, depreciation and so forth on Schedule E — but only to the point where you zero out rental income.

This is a slower moving trend because it takes ages for pension capital to change their asset allocations and they have their own serious underfunding problems that might cause them to keep hoping for outperformance.

If I were you I would integrate a scope of work and schedule to ensure work is progressing and to allocate payments accordingly as work is performed.

It is designed to give you breathing room if you are allocating your cash flow properly.