None of the above is new or earth shattering, but his marketing blitz approach and auction style open house along with gift cards for signing in, free stuff if offer is made within 48 hours etc.

Save and wait unless you can find a killer seller financed deal.And by relative willing to lend  you $2000 - you will want to ensure it is a gift (a true one).There is a difference between lend and gift and it can have a meaningful impact on if those funds are valid for financing sake.

We self-manage, and are 7 year superhosts on the Airbnb platform, and all 3 of our properties also received the "Guest Favorite Award" on Airbnb.  

You may have an amazing gift from Uncle Sam.

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.

I've tried about 5 different ones and Turbotenant is by far my favorite. 

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

I know this is a bold statement but spending 20 years there owning and loaning to out of state investors many times on the same home 2 to to 3 times and one landlord fails and another picks it up and has to remodel yet again.My tips are a gift to the employee not the business owner.

. #3) you can usually tell ahead of time  and you can ALWAYS tell with the first response to any answers  #4) what do to with X dollars, which market, which accounting software (my favorite), solar on my rental, etc etc. 

You are asking about markets where you can Buy, Rehab, Rent out, Refinance, and Repeat (BRRRR Method) where you can buy 70% of After Repair Value and under $150,000 with good cashflow.This is my favorite strategy as well.There are several markets in Michigan where you can do this but the market I prefer is Lansing, MI.It is the State capitol, there is always a lot of economic development as a result which creates jobs and demand for housing which keeps rents up and appreciation steady.To Your Success!