I would also prefer to buy in a town with good schools which I think will translate into good steady renters in the future.

Those savings translates to big money if added up.

Anyways - I have no idea if there's a service that will translate the podcast to written material at the moment. 

A favorable mortgage that comes with few costs and lower monthly payments should translate into a fair market value for the home.

Which translates into less property needed to replace your income.You might consider using property management or a broker for now, since you're out of the country, then becoming more active when you get back.Lending, whether you mean hard money, buying notes, or partnering has the disadvantage of being lumpy.

Grant -Don't take this the wrong way, but that "value" that you mention will in no way translate to increased value of the building.

The contract will initially be a strategic partnership that will translate into 50/50 ownership of a Series LLC that my Master LLC controls.

Translation: You have to risk less of your own money and use other peoples' money.  

I just meant that what you learn in real estate school doesn’t always translate to real world practice.

You have to translate everything into numbers and from the numbers you can make a decision.