Any advice from anyone on a good place to start networking in person for these sorts of strategies?

With that sort of timeline, I would find a lawyer specializing in landlord tenant law in your area and send the notice to terminate lease even before you close. 

Finding an honest property manager to look after it would be the sort of experiment in futility the Nazis devised to see how thoroughly minds could be broken.

Typically you can motion for a BK case to be dismissed, but these sort of things depend on many factors.

I'm facing the same sorts of questions, needing to refi several homes in Georgia.

I would want nothing more than to get started now and me being a college kid, I don’t have any sort of capital.

I know that sort of appreciation in 18 months might seem crazy, but then again, maybe I just bought at a significant discount ;).I'd love to hear what you guys think.

One podcast recently i listened to mentioned that he self manages all his properties to save on the PM fees, but he has some sort of policy with the local utilities that basically gives his tenants a 24hr number to call if something was to happen to say a frig or hvac... he even mentioned it covered a clogged toilet..I am curious what exactly is this such policy he is talking about, because the way he worded it, it sounded like he took most of the headache out of the job with this and he just worries about getting new tenants and collecting rent... he said the policy was cheaper than just keeping a handyman on call to do the repairs.. 

Most investor friendly lenders also want some sort of track record in property ownership if not investing.

But surely you will only do it eyes wide open...with a background screen of some sort, not just believing what you are told.