I wrote an eBook on my experiences if you visit my website under thought leadership you can download for free and have some podcast interviews on my BP profile website to supplement that.  

Also what's the best cheapest digital thermostat I can buy?

Newer gas boilers have a digital readout on it, and also only heat the water as much as they need given outside temperature and the difference between the room temp and desired setting (so it's never going to send say 210 degree water to the radiators).

I’ll be getting help to make the down payment (still confirming the upper limit), and I hope to have it be a live-in property so I can funnel my usual rent payments into equity instead.Based on the BP eBook, I’ve identified that the best strategy for me is to get a small multi-family unit.

Please give a some references on manuals and books or ebooks for beginner real estate agents and investors to read as a resource.

I have seen these data points in hard money lender presentations, but I don't have anything in digital form to reference.  

If you're willing to look at more of a debt fund and pay upper single digit rates then they may accept fully non recourse on the construction but the team better have a lot of experience.

I was just posting on an article where someone said they don’t issue keys they issue codes to digital (push button) locks, which got me thinking – hmmm, maybe I’m doing it wrong.

Generally, RE investors don't like single digit returns on RE.

There may be people in your circle of connections that would be interested in double digit returns for a short term loan.