Once you have the training and experience under your belt, you can change brokers as your busiiness/personal needs change.Like you, I started real estate part time a little over 2yrs ago while simultaneously working a (very well paying) W2 job.  

Is the prospect of owning a SFH while simultaneously acquiring a new rental SFH foolish? 

Always.   1) you are required to a Lender's Policy for the lender anyway; 2) for a little more money (like, a dollar-per-thousand) and what's called a "Simultaneous issue fee" (about $1-200) you will be insured.  

(Though, at least in my situation, I found Lowe's is often reasonably priced, compared to other folks, so when I'm in town, I've got several projects planned for them to do because they will work more quickly and can do several projects simultaneously and I know I have recourse if there is an issue with the quality of the work. 

You still need to have the property as an owner occupied unit for at least 12 months and you can't have it AND a VA Loan simultaneously.

How can it simultaneously be that values are increasing each year, and that prices for homes similar to yours are decreasing? 

The right to apply individually (& have an individual credit report), even while married and simultaneously female, was one of the things that women's rights folks back in the day had to fight for.

In my opinion, it's the best way to gain experience landlording while simultaneously saving money for more properties. 

You can go the conventional loan route and buy them individually, but simultaneously. 

My wife and I did this for a few years at a number of different Denver apartment buildings simultaneously.