There are lenders who even if you haven't filed your taxes can use the income to offset your PITI, which should barely raise your DTI, especially in the type of example that you mentioned. 

Must have tools: you need some type of evaluation metric and/or tool that you are comfortable with and are willing to walk about from a deal if it doesn't meet your requirements.also, a deal is a term for a transaction, not to be confused with a "good deal".

It's was so easy for me getting started to get shiny object sindrome instead of locking in ONE STRATEGY, ONE NEIGHBORHOOD, ONE PROPERTY TYPE, ONE RENOVATION TYPE, etc. 

There are 4 Single Family Homes built on the site. 2 are built-to-sell and 2 are built-to-rent.What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I’m going to suggest to find an experienced real estate investor/flipper/wholesaler you’re comfortable with and work out some type of partnering arrangement. 

Tracking hours would be kind of a pain as we tend to do a lot of partial-hour type of work like a quick phone convo or texting back and forth with a buyer client, researching properties, talking to listing agents and lenders, scheduling showings, previewing properties, travel time, etc.

I partnered with an experienced STR agent, Troy Nowak, and purchased my first short-term rental in Palm Harbor at the height of the real estate frenzy, navigating fierce competition and ultimately overcoming What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Also add if you are getting any type of loan on the properties a Wyoming LLC will not make you anonymous as you will need to sign the mortgage in your name: 

I am a co-host in Dallas and Waco, TX and I have an idea of what types of owners and properties I want in my co-host portfolio----and with each client/property I learn which qualities are working for my business setup or what qualities I need to be working on to upskill.

I'm not very intimate with the markets to the north and south, but I would start looking at price to rent ratios and decide what type of rental type and terms you want to invest in.