I would highly recommend getting your license for property management, and/or realtor.  

if you're beginning conversations with agents, and they don't recommend that you sign this agreement before the close on a property, is that a good thing or a bad thing? 

Since part of your property is a rental, I believe a portion of your mortgage interest should be a tax deduction unlike your other debt.

Solid curtains, water fountain in the backyard, adding trees at the property line nearest the freeway, white noise generators are all other options.

For 99% of the people, for 99% of the time “mentorship’s” are either worthless or actually detrimental to investing success.  

House hacking is an excellent strategy, especially with the potential to use an FHA loan to secure a property with a low down payment. 

Where can I find owner finance properties?""

And that one is like what your describing it was a referral ( actually from the SF event) took me a few weeks to find the property and I suspect I did not put more than maybe 20 hours into that deal..I no longer broker real estate except for my new builds in Oregon..

I've actually been on the phone with a client and had them upload a document right then because in our conversation they remembered something they had originally forgotten.

I am a flipper/investor who has sold many properties, frequently direct to the buyer.