I'm getting itchy to pull the trigger and invest.

They told me labor cost is more in mid-west than in CA - at which point I couldn't stop myself from pulling my hairs.

I'm residing in Canada but am a dual citizen and ready to pull a trigger on a rental property in Dallas, TX as I have family there who can monitor things when I'm gone.

@Joseph Rath keep saving and once you are ready to pull the trigger then you can absolutely house hack a duplex with FHA financing and sellers assistance to help with closing costs and get into a duplex under 200k for $12,000 or less total investment

You should be able to file a complaint with them which will trigger an internal investigations and could lead to closure for you. - Contact a real estate attorney to plead your case and possibly start motions against the company/ agent.

We probably waited too long to pull the trigger in that neighborhood, but because I was a novice, I was comfortable paying a little more to satisfy my confidences in the direction of the market. 

Make sure to take advantage of the free webinars. https://www.biggerpockets.com/webinars I have been to a few webinars and it seems that I need to lean towards more of meet ups to ask for advice before pulling the trigger. 

But basically I would search the websites constantly for houses I thought fit me which a small criteria for me as I said above basically under 30k that rents above 600, I have always thought I would be willing to pay more for a rent ready one but never did pull the trigger on any.

Yes LLC is a "coverage" by definition of a legal entity which is not you, and it doesn't matter if the liability is triggered by an STR guest, an LTR tenant or a handyman working there etc.

I would recommend, depending on your level of experience, attending a few Real Estate Meetups in your area and sticking your head in the forums for a while to gain as much knowledge as possible before you pull the trigger on anything.