I am a newbie in this industry and have a lot to learn, however, I know with my work ethic and determination, I can become a successful real estate investor.

If you know the market and where to price your property, a listing agent is really not going to add a lot to the process and will cost you 3%,  Now before I get blasted by agents posting how mush they add to the sale on the listing side, I will say that if you are not familiar with the sales process, maybe you need to pay the 3%. 

Or he will have to pay a lot to buy it down. 

its a lot to go in depth on 

There is a lot to learn, if you don't have a construction background! 

My wife doesn't want the rental headaches that come with dealing with tenants and potentially ruining the property and having to spend a lot to rehab it.  

Yea there are a lot of investors who want to hit the jackpot on every deal.

I know I can probably house hack my way to 5 properties in 5 years, but I assume I'll probably learn more efficient and aggressive ways to scoop up more properties as I complete my 2nd-3rd house hack, so that I can start picking up more than 1 property per year.I don't want properties that will take a lot to fix up, I'm fine with cosmetics and do-it-yourself type things.

It's great that you're looking to turn this situation into a positive venture with Airbnb.I think there is a lot to unpack here to answer your question.

Let's say I find a 2-acre lot to purchase.