By the time I decided to move forward with a property, I felt very comfortable about working with Zach and his team.

Ask any agent who's been in those shoes how many people cared.

If I were in your shoes I would request a fee estimate from your lender  

Out of the box, mine was hard as hell and never got comfortable. 

You have many  options with that property you have, do not ever assume anything (like not doing the kitchen/bath and going STR).You need to figure out what you are comfortable with and what will make you $$.

Buy creative real estate, don't chase the comfort of a nice new house, chase the cashflow opportunities to start.

“Safety comes in numbers”Also, in my opinion you should NEVER invest what your can’t comfortably afford to loose.You are 100% correct about prices increasing over the years.The answer is quite simple.

If I was in your shoes, I would have them be actual partners and guarantee the loan with you.

I think it depends on how comfortable you want your tenants to be, but me personally I wouldn't add it.

Just get yourself in the game and own the roof over your head with a monthly mortgage you can afford comfortably, anything beyond that rent the other rooms out if there are any.