From my experience, success in real estate investing starts with clearly defining your goals and continuously educating yourself through podcasts, books, forums, and courses.

What are the best resources / tools to get connected/educated on this type of asset?

That will help you make educated decisions.

So most agents are only putting about half of that $12k in their pocket, and out of that $6k they have to cover all of their operating expenses: licensing fees, MLS/ Realtor Association fees, continuing education classes to stay compliant with licensing requirements, monthly "desk" fees/ technology fees to their brokerage, health insurance for themselves and their family, errors and omissions insurance (required), marketing, car, car insurance, gas, clothes, computer/ software, cell phone, closing gifts, signs, photography, staging if they offer that, etc.

However, I would really like to be educated about the opportunity to do this, but possibly in other close neighboring cities.  2) If short-term rentals aren't a possibility, would like to invest in single or multi-family for long-term rentals.  

I am only curious and trying to educate myself on sub to as it seems rather attractive to me as a non-US buyer who has access to emergency lines of credit, albeit, maybe limited to 200k. 

This is NOT Business Credit.By establishing a separate corporate credit profile on the EIN Number (separate from the business owner's SSN/FICO), investors can access substantial business credit lines, capital for property acquisitions, and renovation funds without personally guaranteeing the debt.This approach creates a powerful financial firewall between personal and business assets while potentially generating a significantly larger (ROI) through reduced interest rates, increased borrowing capacity, and the ability to scale investments more rapidly.The education gap surrounding EIN corporate credit means savvy investors who understand and implement this strategy can gain a significant competitive advantage.

I do qualify for being a broker which comes with some additional education etc. 

Education first, then execution. 

The forums and search [box] is a free REI education.