I've seen great reviews on using PadSplit as a way to get onboard and off board tenants as well as collect rent and property manage as a whole among other things.

2> Terms and best practices: What are some ways to better set myself up to qualify for long term debt service products?

The husband couldn't qualify for a mortgage (and still doesn't), but the wife did.

They have a database full of qualified investors that they have made loans to already.

The property owner always loses while the arbiter has no skin in the game at all, just skimming profits off of the owner and can walk away any time they want without reprocussions. 

this is old  tried and true method of simply having you pay them to get credit cards .. there is no need to pay for this service.. unless you want to of course.. there is no magic bullet ut there that is going to give you credit and financing unless you actually qualify for it.But zero interest credit cards are used by some to do rehab and then pay them off issue is though your fico score drops like a rock the second you take on all these CC.Also starting out there is zero chance of getting any kind of business line of Credit that is unsecured.

Now, my properties are near the top end of what you can afford and still qualify for Section 8...

You will need two years of your 1099 documented income to qualify for a loan as a 1099 employee, both years of taxes complete for them to formally pre-approve you most likely.You need to bank as much money as possible.

To me, any liquidity qualifies: bank letters, bank statements, stocks in an investment account that covers down payment, etc.Today, I got a letter from a hard money lender saying the buyer is approved for 1/2 the listing price of the property.

The good news is that if since it is being used for investment use, you could also qualify for a 1031 exchange and take advantage of the 121 exclusion.