Your experience demonstrates that while such courses may offer comprehensive education, they are not always necessary and can be a detour on one's journey.Your advice to new investors is both practical and empowering.

I’m comfortable with my tenant selection but want to do this both for due diligence and for practice.5.

Thoughts of building are often much better in theory than practice.

As such, those engaged in these practices are required to have a valid real estate broker license.

I would fire you as a client, and make it know on the local boards of your practice.  

Mindset, daily discipline, refusal to give up, and having the life (healthy marriage, kids and self) you want is much more difficult in practice and often requires a teachers. :)Joe Fairless, Rod Khleif, Michael Blank (in no particular order).

I’d practice analyzing both single family houses as well as smaller multi family deals from 2-10 or so units.

### Taking the LeapSince you’ve already gained so much knowledge, now’s the time to put it into practice.

Or is that a common practice among trusted contractors and investors? 

Timeframe, legal considerations, and best practices going forward of course vary by jurisdiction.You can't count on believing that the family member doesn't already have utilities under their name or similar arrangement that will keep the power on for them.