(closing on the 28th of May) and once that is rented out going to start pursuing other deals and opportunities. 

I am  very outgoing and socially inclined And would like to gain as much information as possible to help me progress in this career option

I agree completely get your outgoing tenant to recruit the new one.

Every time you have a bad tenant move out, go back to the application and screening decisions and figure out what you could have done to screen them out.  

With out going over all the details, I never listed the house for sale due to saving on the cost of realty fees.

I'm a very out going person and would be great to work with..

It's a lot easier to figure out going the fixed interest rate route; but it would also depend on the requirements of the investor (whether they want equity, or a fixed rate of return). 

My wife is finishing up her masters in the next year and we have decided once she is done we want to start off our real estate investing careers with an owner occupied multifamily.I have a less than outgoing personality and am well aware of how much real estate investing is reliant on relationships.

If buying a place that is a multifamily and living in it would reduce your outgo, that would only help you longer term.Also, run your credit report and see what's keeping your score down.  

Also, for the security deposit, if you are thinking about returning a portion to the out-going tenant, don't.