Mom is a real estate agent and dad knows the trades.

The trade-offs are real, but for consistent cash flow and the right landlord, it can be an excellent strategy.What’s the best way to start?

Since all these Companies are publicly traded, you can read their yearly 10K'S and quarterly 10q reports. which are very transparent as to how they generate their profits and what risks their seeing on the horizon.

I don't require my agents to join NAR and in fact dropped my membership when I opened my own brokerage.If the situation made sense, I wouldn't necessarily require an agent to join MLS, but it's such a basic tool of the trade, I can't imagine someone who is active in the business going without it.

Most investor deals are traded off-market, and the brokers/investors/agents that gatekeep them typically will trade with only their circle as it's a form of doing repeat business with the folks they already know and trust. 

You mentioned a career change, I think going into the trades like plumbing and electrical are great and you can make good money doing those, but I think you may be taking on too much by trying to do that right now.

Communication - 1-2 weeks before a new trade starts they should walk the project with you to go through any last minute logistics and make sure they have a crew ready to go.3.

The 1031 exchange is designed to give you a loophole: You are not considered to be selling and buying, you are simply trading your property for a different one or ones.

Keep in mind, most offmarket/distressed deals are traded offmarket before they even hit the auction block. 

In the future when I start trading up to larger properties (50 to 100+ properties) I will likely sell off my current portfolio to condense my holdings to fewer parcels so that way my time is better utilized.