@Benjamin CarverThat was an OUTSTANDING post.

Good luck, and feel free to ask if you need more tips on tenant screening!

I help several local investors and we do have a meet up.

Yes, you need a team, however you can't just assemble people together and call it a team. 

I have a cosigner willing to help, but Im unsure whether they must be in my LLC or can just be a guarantor, has anyone dealt with this before?

Fannie Mae will allow you to transfer the deed to an LLC if you decide to try to go the conventional route, but the loan would still be in your names and you'll need to pay a title company a second time post-closing to do this  for you. 3) I can't speak for the area so no comment there4) If you're self managing, make sure you find vendors you can trust in the area since you won't be able to easily verify if an HVAC guy, plumber, etc. is trying to rip you off and tell you to buy something you don't actually need. 5) Make sure you have clear alignment of goals and a clear operating agreement that spells out what to do if those goals start to not align in the future since you'll be jointly obligated to these properties. 

As an out of state investor, I would love to connect and potentially have a property manager in my team that experience in Section 8 rental. 

If someone was over during a high consumption month I'd give then a notice/warning for the first month along with some energy consumption tips then tack it onto the rent. 

Any tips on how to maximize my time on this platform are greatly appreciated! 

Very little or a whole hell of a lot .