I’ve been listening to audio books to get some ideas and every single one recommends getting on bigger pockets.

New to RE investing, have watched tons of BP episodes.My goal is to pursue mid-long term buy and hold rental properties, either single or multi-family.

I have only been pushed back once or twice on the loan/origination fee, but I get push back on the interest rate every single time.

A few months back, I worked with a friend who’d helped a first-time flipper in Jonesboro turn a crusty old single-family place into something that looked straight out of a design magazine.

1. coaching- all of the "coaches" were newbies themselves with about 1 year of experience and about 1 deal under their belts and they always disappear after 2-3 months and get replaced with new "coaches".2. networking- they have a FB group, populated primarily by other newbies. go there to answer questions, and it's likely you'll get other newbies saying "good question". there are lots of newbies hoping to get into a deal, but who wants to put together a team where every single person is brand new with no experience?

Small towns may rely too much on a single business or market segment.

However, we’d like to purchase the next property as a single-family or single-family townhome.

There are exceptions, like what was mentioned by @Nathan Gesner, if you are an employee of the property owners, and you exclusively manage their properties, if you're a resident manager, living in the building that is being managed, or if you are someone who manages properties owned by a single entity and have a direct ownership interest in it.

While BP has a rent estimator as does rentometer.com (both allow a few free uses, I believe), I agree with @Zachary Deal that your best bet is to seek out guidance from either the listing agent or a property manager well-versed with the area. 

It's just a single family home so the rents don't effect the appraised value.