answer to #4: Speeding things up to do more deals every year, i'd say begin looking into partnering on deals with friends or family who perhaps have yet to purchase a property so they can use an fha 3.5% down or 5% down conventional loan, you gift them a portion of the downpayment for a % of equity in the property.

However after talking to my lender, he said that we would not be able to use my fathers "gift" to purchase an investment property.

In a relationship for 1 yr with a beautiful gifted psychic woman.  

Assuming your DTI is in good shape, the easiest way to put the least down out of pocket is to use a HELOC on your current property as your down payment and conventional loan for the rest of the purchase. 

The advice of @Gita Faust is correct and I would not follow the advice Scott is getting from his CPA - they are probably just telling him what is easiest for his taxes.

From the folks I have talked to that have, they are their easiest tenants and guaranteed money. 

STR is not the easiest niche to make money in especially in the current environment. 

The easiest thing to do is have a plumber open the ceiling beneath you to diagnose.

It's easiest to have the tile company do this at your initial closing, but you can do it yourself.

Depending on location or even not, it sounds easiest to find a lender who would possibly cross/wrap enough of your other properties to get what equity is necessary to take down the new B&B purchases.