Since Section 8 is a federal thing that is implemented at the local level, I strongly suggest you focus on what landlords local to the real estate in question have to say.

Finance, especially at the 300 level+ is very beneficial with higher level thinking, and I'm incredibly thankful I got that experience.In summary- in the public accounting field, the MBA or MSA title does not impact anything... pay/promotion track/skill/etc.

The benefit for sure is entry level is cheap to get started and gain traction.

Thus, I only look to buy notes whereby I have a high confidence level I can help the borrower with a workout. 

My hope is to, like you say, convert certain pieces of the process from exercise to actual knowledge and understanding at a deeper level. I

I think everyone here does it a little differently, but I typically have a higher capital expenditure reserve in the beginning (10-20% of rent) until the reserve balance hits a comfortable level. I

My philosophy is if you buy right and are conservative with your numbers, what happens to the market on a macro level is less important because you have protected yourself against a potential "crash".

Bankruptcy at the best business level is definitely a level of protection for an investor.

At a high level, I am trying to determine whether a refi makes sense/is possible given my current situation, or if I should pursue conventional/fha mix with remaining VA entitlement. 

Right now I have a property that is in the AO zone.