That said, I am only talking about UK regulated sites (available across the EU).As someone who is not familiar with the USA choices, I am finding the regulatory differences very interesting.

All of these choices will affect your monthly cash flow so need to be taken into account. 

Looking for someone who can help me decide on which houses would be good choices, how much they could rent for, and to fill them. 

I made a choice to change my life and I’m excited about moving forward. 

Right now, your retirement plan most likely has minimal choices to invest in (some stock funds, bonds, ETFs if you are lucky) so you are rather limited in choosing an investment vehicle that will help you reach your goals.From first hand experience, I can tell you that getting a solo 401k was rather easy and I have checks that I write to pay for properties free and clear or to put a down payment if I want to get a loan.

I do not know if renting to section 8 is a zoning requirement that I can lookup, or a choice by the landlord to rent to section 8. 

About a year ago they made a conscious choice to go for higher quality sponsors.   

I’m not planning on buying anything else right away but want to take a year or two to thoroughly educate myself on how the market works, how to finance safely, how to find and recognize good deals and anything else that would help me make good choices when I get some money to invest.

You have a greater choice of options if you are open to the idea.

Milwaukee also has become hip for a young crowd, who enjoy the quality of living, economic opportunities and an entrepreneurial vibe combined with a relativley low cost of living.As mentioned before choice of area is critical.