A good real estate accountant can save you thousands of dollars by leveraging entity selection and formation, tax deductions, cost segregations, bonus depreciation and tax planning.I recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation, business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.You may want to consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.I would also recommend looking for a accountant willing to work with you throughout the year.

You find here on BP tonnes of free RE advice; please save your money for investing in RE. 

Both can save time and improve efficiency, depending on how hands-on you want to be. 

I think he's about 30 houses away from retiring.

I guess you might save a few hundred dollars.

In the northeast having a second heat source in the rental saved  frozen pipes when the electric was out for days.

Guess my thinking was if they can help me save on the funding part and locking in my first deal , it would pay for itself.  

Some investors prefer to start saving for these ASAP, while others plan to deal with them when they happen.The unknown is Maintenance costs, which are often dictated by how "hard" a tenant lives in a property.

I applaud you and your wife for thinking about this so early and your apparently great ability to save money for this next step! 

When investing in real estate, having multiple exit strategies is key.For a single investment property, make sure the numbers work for both scenarios: 1️) If you decide to sell the home, the deal should produce a solid return. 2️) If you need to rent it out, the rental income should cover expenses and provide a profit.Flexibility is what saves you when things don’t turn out as planned.