I also noticed what you noticed that most of the people rushing to spend money on the 3-day program didn't seem college educated or very financially savvy at all.

In my experience, it’s all about networking with local contractors and being flexible with your plans to stay ahead of any issues that come up.Happy to exchange knowledge!

Don't be in too much of a rush, people have been making money on Real Estate for Centuries, a few more months for you won't make or break you.

make friends.there's no rush. the worst possible thing you could do would be to put your nest egg into something and lose some of it and set yourself back.

To @Mike Dymski point about density bonus for low income they tried that with new builds and that caused a rush of permits to go in before the law was past and very few projects after the law. 

. :) Full steam ahead!

In a situation like that where they did not see the unit ahead of time, I would likely be more flexible about these issues.

It's good to plan ahead but I'd focus on that first property, get it stabilized, learn the rental business, then move onto the next property once you've got your feet under you. 

It has been somewhat stressful coordinating activities and coming up with the best plan, but I went ahead and contracted with a PA.

Its called a "look ahead schedule".The key to building a good schedule is knowing the information and the sequence the work must take place in.