If so, is that recommended for a first-time buyer?  

BiggerPockets also has a calculator to analyze deals, and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy.

Upon BP member recommendations, my husband got his real estate license which now helps increase our access and decrease our transaction costs.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

Could you recommend where I can start looking?

Are there tools (i.e RentRedi) that you recommend using for LTR tenant screening, rent collection, background checks, etc?

I highly recommend you reach out to him, he is fast, professional, and does amazing work.If you would like me to make that connection, reach out to me.

What I would like to are some reading recommendations for learning the meat and potatoes on the processes of completing rehabs, and the processes of working with contractors?

I recommend that you find a trusted or recommended Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO), who can give you options for property-based loans (mostly investment loans) and they don't use your taxes but the P&L of the property.

I think tax benefits should be secondary to buying something that would work well as a STR.I would recommend you consult a tax professional to see what possible tax benefits you could receive from buying this STR.