Generally military folks like to keep their rent under their BAH, so if you go much over that you'll isolate yourself to the senior enlisted/officer and there aren't a whole lot of those. 

Should I enlisted the help of a real estate agent?

Houston will be my first time investing out of state and I need to enlist the help of a successful real estate agent in Houston to buy my first one!

The seller is technically responsible for creating the note and the mortgage ( or security deed) documents, but as a practical matter the closing entity can often be enlisted to provide templates and necessary language to protect the seller's interests.In Georgia, where we close with attorneys, it's pretty straightforward to obtain a boiler-plate security deed that gives you most of what you need, legally.

At 18, I already was enlisted.

Spent most of my life here minus the 8 or so years I lived down in Southern California during and after my enlistment in the Marine Corps.

I ended up on east coast after i enlisted in a military. 

and enlisted in the Navy after High School. 

As others mentioned you can enlist the help of a reputable commercial broker and your attorney to help with the negotiations, contracts and due diligence. 

I will definitely enlist the help of a CPA for the advanced strategies you listed.