@Tim Hem I think Account Closedare right.  

@Account Closed You are 100% right.

I am currently studying to get my real estate license in the state of PA and plan on buying my first investment property in the next couple months.

@Megan HerringtonBigger Pockets is a great place to find a real estate tax accountant. 

As a co-host for short term rentals, you may not need a license as long as you're not crossing over into activities that could be considered brokerage activities like handling any contracts, collecting rents, doing any accounting, approving tenants, etc.

2) Are you pre-approved and have the down payment in your bank account?

I don’t have any direct experience with retirement accounts as I never opted to use them so I could keep cash available for investing now.

For many years, I've been studying and following this community to dive into the world of real estate as an investor.

There's no step by step guide but there are key things : Learn: RE strategies, what interests you, what do people in your area need.Connect: find a mentor, accountability group and be around those doing what you want to do.Help: solve problems- do people need dealflow, property mgmt, construction expertise, etc. 

Monitor the account that all x number of payments went out.