The news cycle notes that the limited availability of affordable homes is primarily due to a significant gap between the demand for housing and the supply. 

It is always better to start with a multi-unit 2+ so that if something goes wrong, you still have one tenant to cover necessary expenses (mort, taxes, insur, etc).Also, major renovations are not a great idea for starting out as others said, especially out of state.

They know the rent is due and they’ll just respect you less and reinforce their believe you’re a weak landlord they can walk over. 

How much are you qualified to borrow and what will your monthly costs be for mortgage, insurance, taxes???

Something to consider is to convert the pre-tax funds/assets to Roth so you have tax free atm withdrawals at retirement.  

I am pretty averse to that type of liability due to having significant assets and a strong W2. 2.

I was on the verge of spending the $300 on the 3 day program but due to a hunch decided against it.

I waive escrow on all my mortgages and pay taxes/insurance with cc, put repairs on cc, etc.

As for buying already built I agree there are some great opportunities, but do your due diligence.  

Not giving tax advise, so check with your CPA, but I sold a rental after it was my primary for over 2 years and as long as it was considered my primary residence "2 of the last 5 years", I did not have to pay capital gains on my property sale up to the IRS limit.