I think the fact that companies are trying to do this means that the opportunities are largely gone. It's not like it's hard to find big investors if you're really going to get safe 7%+ returns - so if they are marketing this to first-timers/small timers... that's not a good signal to jump in, at least IMO.
2009-2011 or so was the time to buy rentals. There's still stuff out there but it's not easy or convenient to find anymore.
-W