The reviews were so stellar, almost thought that they were fake at first, but some of the reviews come from people that have more than one or two post.

Happy to review what you have and advise if it could work.

Quote from @Roger Flot: I was reviewing some renovated listings in my area and one indicated that even though the house was originally built in 1920, because of all the renovations bringing the house to current code, that you could get 2024 rates on insurance. 

For those of you who have been in a similar position, what do you think makes the most sense?

With that said, I am in the position where I will not need a monthly income from my rentals.

I personally think you can successfully market both your property management (PM) and buy/sell real estate services under one brand if you position them correctly.

@Andy Ptak when jumping into the industry you have a few choices:1) Start at the bottom2) Leverage your experience to convince someone to give you a chance3) Decide between:--- Big companies who will usually start you at the bottom--- Small companies that will more like to a chance on hiring you for an above entry level position.

Important resources(articles, books, podcasts) to review?

You could put seller financing on second position and get financing for the first and do a 90% CLTV.I don't think any lender (unless private) will let you put nothing down.

Based on my calculations, even with a low down payment, I can achieve positive cash flow (with aggressive enough house hacking).