I have a friend who has one in Florida where he doesn't have to do any repairs or maintenance to his unit.

Until now, I’ve mostly shared this journey with close friends and family, but I’ve realized it’s time to open up and document this experience for everyone.

Quote from @Michael Nguyen: My friend and I are starting our real estate journey together as partners.

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!

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.

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

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.

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.