And finally, with regard to your concern to banks caring about your education level.....they don't.

To get your business going I would suggest Miracle Morning for Real Estate Agents followed by 7L: The Seven Levels of Communication and then The One Thing.

My strategy is to use base level finishes whole leasing it and replace with upgraded finishes once I'm ready to sell it in 7-10 years.

It took me years and hundrets of deals to get to the level where I am.

I personally don't pay an extreme amount of attention to marco trends (yet) because I am not investing on a macro level yet.I am more focused on the trends of the area I am investing in (Chicago in my case) and like you, for my first handful of deals I prefer to be close to them.  

The competition is apartment complexes where I'll have full control, and that is a level of security that I just can't pass by. 

My main pro for it, is that at my income level, I think paying corporate taxes for the rental income with a C corporation would be less than paying it as pass through income i.e. personal income tax. 

@George Vigil I don't think I'm qualified to provide the level of feedback between the options or the market.

It should be something like $600-$900 for the first year depending on the level of coverage you choose. 

While its possible that it might go through I would rather assume the worst-case, especially because I don't want to take on that level of risk.