I would suggest finishing school, working as a part time agent while you are at school, saving commissions for investing, and working with a team that focuses on investing as opposed to residential sales.There are also local meet ups every month. 

I backed up, regrouped and went smaller to gain more experience. 

The city also benefits from a relatively low cost of living compared to other major cities, attracting both renters and investors.

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

I'll see if they have a program for this deal and I'll follow up with you. 

This tax scales up to 37% but not till around $12,500k in income for the year.   

We opened the kitchen with a new bar counter space and tore up all the carpet.

This will save me much more money eventually than the cost of the bookkeeper.  

No, I am not a part of any meet up groups.

You didn't mention the higher Florida insurance costs.