This is done by my ongoing survey of the market, discussions with municipal officials and website review, BUT it is by no ways official.

They signed a rent to own contract, my father-in-law paid extra on his rent every month which went towards his down payment that he was able to use in 2018 when he officially legally purchased the home from his landlord (I was his buyer's agent).

I don't think an official "course" would be super-helpful vs. taking advantage of the resources here on BP such as the books and webinars and most of all, diving in and getting experience in the actual day-to-day of owning and managing the rental properties.At the end of the day, real estate is all about the reps and experience "doing" rather than book learning, you will gain at least 10X the knowledge jumping in and learning to solve real problems

They signed a rent to own contract, my father-in-law paid extra on his rent every month which went towards his down payment that he was able to use in 2018 when he officially legally purchased the home from his landlord (I was his buyer's agent).

I really try to limit how much and where i get my information from but I keep hearing government officials encouraging tenants to not worry about rent,  paying utilities, and halting evictions. 

I'm waiting on an official job offer letter right now to start figuring out the finance side of things.

I looked up owners - names didn't match, and if it was PMs, then "out of area" doesn't work very well.I do have owner's numbers but I can't use them because I got them through my job.Can I get them more official way and call them and see what I am dealing with just to be prepared?

Security deposits, current rental agreements (and/or estoppel letters confirming current terms) with move in condition form and all addenda, current rent roll, and any current delinquencies should be turned over, along with all keys in the possession of management, within a very few days of the official end of their management.

I had been paying it off following Dave Ramsey's baby steps (#6) after maxing out other investing (roth 401k, college savings) and was seriously considering moving the family to Hawaii in the next 2-3 years, however, we officially changed direction and now are staying in Texas and starting REI. 

I really don't want to have any issues down the line when we sell the property or pay off the loan and need to clear the lien.I've asked for an official letter notifying us of the transfer, for our records, but have been unsuccessful in getting one.