first thing one should do is figure out if they quality the 2  in  5 tax treatment and if the home has appreciated a ton like 250 to 500k which is very common in coastal markets and Denver for instance.. selling would be far smarter than renting. pocket the tax free and find another rental. turning it into a rental you lose that one time tax treatment which in my mind is the very best for real estate. 

Yes @Tj Hines I'm extremely clear on the need to have an additional role which is why I included "I understand my role should include more than raising the initial equity investment and continue throughout the holding period and disposition" before asking my questions.

This is common.

Therefore if you purchase in say September, your current years tax bill will be based on the current years value which may be even lower than what you can achieve with the exemption and on investments the value will be updated according to your ATI and will not be reassessed by the county for five years as well as once it is, the increase is capped to a 15% increase in value which is not common and can be appealed which is less often than many other states.Yes, the effective tax rate comes out to a difference of say 0.5% on personal residence to 3.0% on investments, but I would say handling it the right way up front and budgeting for it in your analysis is better than risking it another way.

But you need to learn all about landlord/tenant laws, how to do basic repairs, know what average labor and material costs are for common projects. learn about payment systems, how to interview property managers, tenants and handyman services, build a team of realtors, contractors, title, hard/private money lenders, inspectors, appraisers and soooo much more. 

You should also ask if they do cost segregation analyses, as that might be extremely helpful in reducing your income tax liability.You could pay a CPA to prepare your tax return for this first year and learn as much as possible from them.

@Adam Bartomeo in the area where the property is, for the smaller units, it is common expectation that all utilities are included with the rent.

But that's been common for all areas I have invested in. 

Real estate has so many tax benefits and credits available, that I always tell people it's crucial to have a CPA that's extremely knowledgeable in this area.

A common rule of thumb for Return on Equity (ROE) in real estate is to aim for 8-12% or higher.