What market are you in? I

mortgage all in is $2600 / month and a conservative rental estimate is $3700-$3900.The tricky thing is my wife will move first, and I will follow her about 3 months later. 

You got to go all in.  I

Either way doing whatever you can to get as close as possible to what you are interested in is going to give you the context to ask better questions and know exactly what it is you want to do once done with your schooling. 

If you're evaluating property to invest in, I would recommend finding a quality broker to assist you in evaluating that property, and others, to make sure you have as much assistance as possible related to a large investment.

I am so happy I got over my fear and just dove in. I

No, but really I will review all of the listings that you send in. I

The only other option is to pay for a hotel stay and put a storage bin outside the home to put their stuff in.  I

Jump in. I

The home I invested in is an older home but with renovations done to it a couple of years ago.