Any tips on targeted marketing, effective lead generation, or even some "outside-the-box" tactics?

Start small, network with other investors, and use tools like BiggerPockets calculators to analyze deals effectively.

Strong jobs reports had a larger effect on the 10 year treasury, followed by strong retail sales numbers, followed by EU inflation numbers, then followed by election results but honestly election results only affected rates for a couple of days.Lots of pressure on treasuries from the level of debt the US is carrying, but remember the Fed is also still doing quantitative tightening (while cutting rates) which is additional upward pressure on rates.

I don't work on houses, but I have to use B and A-basis values for material strength which in effect means the real material will end up being 20%+ stronger (depend on the material).  

Not too shabby for land appreciation.That said, I’d keep an eye on the Elon Effect down southeast.

Simplifying to a single operational entity (Series LLC) for rentals and management can effectively meet your goals while minimizing costs.

@Phillip Austin I self-manage my properties including some where I do rent by room as a primary strategy, and it is very effective if done well with good screening in place.The difference is starting with shorter leases for me. 

Hi Shawn-Congratulations on starting out on your real estate investing career.You have a question about whether it is good to have your real estate license or not as an investor and you are leaning toward multifamily investing.I personally think having your real estate license is helpful as an investor.Having your real estate license allows you to work with other investors to help them build their portfolios which helps expand your network while being productive, you can research market value more effectively, find out about deals before they are listed, and of course it allows you to collect the commission on purchasing any listed property.To Your Success!

Georgia, a state not mentioned, offers a 20% penalty so if the encumbered deed is redeemed after 1st month your effective rate of return is 240%!

Yep for one especially in the early stages a hard credit pull would not be useful, just have them do soft checks for the time being and opt out of credit solicitation: www.optoutprescreen.com I could be biased... that said typically working with one lender than can help regardless of where you're looking and having a relationship with that will provide the easiest and most cost effective route long term.