At this stage in the game I'd say as a general rule skip the mentorships and gurus. 

so he has an initial negative equity in excess of $100k.so -$100k / (a very small cash flow when properly allocating for expenses and vacancy) equals years before there is any cash flow.  

One issue I see with this is that I do not have a real estate license so I don't think that would create any issues with STR management, but as for MTR management it seems like there are certain limitations without a license - any feedback on that would be appreciated-Staging properties primarily for FSBO's as I know properties listed by realtors will typically have an in-house staging offering.

The real property investment can be repositioned if it proves disappointing in its original form; it can be refinanced or recapitalized if it has too much or too e pensive debt; inflation over time bales out many bad purchases, and finally the investors knowledge, experience and abilities can be leveraged to turn around a cash flow negative property.I’ll provide an exampleThree years ago we purchased a note from a bank secured by two auto repair facilities with a large amount of excess land.  

As an aspiring investor I am at the stage where I am looking to learn through mentorship.

It comes down to having good insurance for protection.I keep around five rentals per LLC, and I am in Jacksonville, FL, where my homes are worth around $250-350k.Having more than ten bank accounts is excessive. 

Without evidence, it's hard to say.First, you should educate all of your tenants to report excessive noise to the police.

Virtual staging would help, pictures of the parking lot would help as well.

You need to attack each positive reply you get at each stage of the funnel. 

Im new to the investing world and am still in the early stages, I've been studying and researching for the past five years.