Our long term plan is REI in order to provide for the family and our kid's (currently 2 yo.) future education.

@Dave Foster great way to explain a reverse 1031 - it always seems to confuse people and this is a perfect way to lay it out, I may have to steal this two-step explanation in the future ;) Thanks for always adding value, even us ol' pros keep learning from you!

That way in the future if there are very difficult issues they may be able to assist.

Is the added income you make worth it, or is the higher rent more than covering that (current use and future repairs/replace)?

It's all in how you position something to make the future tenant  feel like they are getting a great value.Point number 5: One poster mentioned they self manage many properties.

If you plan to do more projects in the future and don't want to keep taking credit hits and providing paperwork, and you are very confident that your numbers work, then a HELOC may be more suitable for long-term investing for multiple properties..

I personally do give breaks to repeat clients, so maybe talk to him.her about discounts on future deals.YOu can call around and see what other reputable agents are charging in the area.When you say a finders fee for off market deals, these may be deals where the seller is not paying a commission and he/she is using her network to find flips, foreclosures, probate. etc.  

The other aspect of providing income to live on which you mentioned was one of your goals, through apartments is being a passive investor in syndication deals which would provide you a return on the money you invest which would provide passive income to you and if working with experienced operators in a deal you will also be able to learn on how these guys are doing what you want to do in the future which is be an active full time real estate investor.

I'll definitely be spending a lot of time in the books for the foreseeable future.

Everyone has different goals, you haven't mentioned anything about what your future plans are.