My plan was to work with someone who has done similar homes in the area, if possible, who might come in with pre-approved or mostly ready-to-go building plans; no sense re-inventing the wheel. 

I just finished my pre-licensing courses and am about to take my real estate licensing exams.

So now he is advising us to work with a new lender and fill out a new application to get pre approved again.

Hi Jr, as a newbie,  I recommend going after pre-foreclosures versus foreclosed properties -- your mission would be to connect with the homeowner versus foreclosed properties which can be a scavenger hunt that leads to nowhere.   

In Allegheny county, you can apply to be a preferred owner where you can get priority scheduling for inspections and even request pre-inspections of a property.

I would get pre-approved with a great mortgage lender and then connect with a realtor who will help you look for those properties that have more than 1 unit. 

What I can say is that RentRedi is a complete management service that manages the entire process from marketing for tenants, through pre-qualification, scheduling viewings with calendly.com, the application, the background check/credit check/eviction check; automatic rent collection, repair/maintenance management: the whole nine. 

The conventional brokerage model is a pre-internet, pre-online tech enabled world.

My buddy has had one since they were pre sales. 

The difference in pre-qualification between base pay vs overtime is significant enough for this to be a deal breaker.