Educate yourself with resources like The House Hacking Strategy and practice analyzing deals using tools like BiggerPockets calculators.

This is a great reference tool.

Those that cannot weather the storm get wiped out.Having cashflow positive properties provides a margin of safety you just do not have with negative cashflow.Why are you focused on buying in your backyard? 

We share best management practices, systems & tools, and our networks.

all materials, all labor costs to others, Not you, utilities, interest payments, permits, licenses, auto/truck expenses, tools needed are all deductable. 

The good news is that this is the perfect hidden health and safety inspection item with which to negotiate a price reduction.

All of the tools that you use to try to figure out if a potential tenant will be a "good" tenant revolves around trying to answer those 3 questions.

And yes, plenty of people use it as a self-marketing / networking tool, and why shouldn't they???

If you control how they perform tasks, set their hours, or provide tools, they should likely be a W-2 employee, requiring you to withhold taxes and comply with payroll regulations.

But leverage is a useful tool, just know when to use a hammer and when to use a screwdriver.Totally agree.