I agree with @Christopher Abele that you really want someone here that can view properties in person. A

If your job relies at least in part on a public persona on BP you probably want to stop appearing like a scumbag.

The deductions you are entitled to take do not depend on if you are a W-2 employee or a real estate professional.The only difference between a real estate professional and a non-real estate professional is the limitation of utilizing passive losses on your return.Furthermore, rental deductions as part of the business are separate from the decision to take itemize/standard deduction.Now if the properties are persona, you would need the items to be in excess of $24,000(if filing joint) for you to benefit from taking the itemized deduction.

To onlookers it seemed like I had it all worked out I was curating the persona of a happy and successful investor.

If I hop and and see that a question has been sufficiently answered or the idea or process I was going to add is similar to something already said, I just give that person a vote and call it good. 

If you are a go-getter, hard charger, humble and eager to learn, coachable military member with leadership experience, then you could be a successful business person as well. 

You already know the area, so you know the parts of town that renters would want to be in, you know what market values are, and it'll be much easier to get to the property for things like inspections, showings, and repairs & maintenance.As you build your team and become more experienced you won't need to go to the property in person as much, or ever, but personally as I'm growing my portfolio I like the comfort of easily being able to put my hands on my properties.

To maximize this opportunity, it is recommended to utilize the full allocation of 10 loans per person. As

Period.There's no legitimate/good reason for them to be making those posts, and I already know enough to know I don't want that person as my tenant. 

Just know that you always have the BP community as well as persona connections you will make to help along the way!