I’m also currently looking to upgrade to a software that allows me to transfer friends from PM to owner and will help me generate form 1099at the end of the year.

You can write off everything still, its actually better if flip takes more then a year as you can make it look like a long term capital gain, need a investor friendly CPA who isn't afraid to do what gets you the lowest tax payments. 

I have a friend with a skid steer, and if we can't do it it's probably not worth it!

Unless the contractor is a friend of yours, they aren't going to go to a house you aren't buying just to tell you how much something costs and if they did, it may not translate to the next home.

I was a foster child who put myself through college on my own, and I have relied on some good friends for a place to stay as I grew up, which has motivated me to create a better life for myself.I have done a lot of research on real estate, and from my perspective, it seems as if wholesaling, which I feel my sales skills may help with, would be a good place to start to make some extra money to speed up the investing process.

And I hope to be ready to buy within 9 months (we are moving from LA)  Agents that aren't keeping deals to themselves (or friends) are a rarity.

Since your friend covers utilities, this offsets some of your cost.

Still landlord friendly.

Finder's fees of 30% of first month of rent that one of my friend paid in Collin county.

We are already surrounded on three sides by urban zoned homes.My neighbors and I have been approached by two individuals, one is a neighbor who is a real estate agent, and the other one a friend of a neighbor, who works with a real estate attorney; both individuals asked us to join them in working with the 5-6 developers they have approached.