The first is having a personal portfolio of 5 passive rental properties, not including my residence.

Contents (Personal Property): most homeowners policies give a set % of the Buildinglimit for Contents.

It separates your personal assets from your business, providing a safeguard if any legal issues arise related to tenants or the property.

The person had something of an accent.

Instead of debates and personal opinion, look for proof https://www.ladbs.org/docs/default-source/forms/plan-check-2017/single-family-dwelling-duplex-plan-review-list.pdf under G (Interior Env) which defines the minimum requirement of a habitable room (aka bedroom or bathroom).

The primary residence exclusion is $250k per person on title.

You must report rental income on Schedule E and can deduct rental expenses like repairs, maintenance, property taxes, mortgage interest (allocated between personal and rental use), and depreciation for the rented portion.

Like @John Underwood said, your cleaner and handy person can be of great help getting things done.

Personal money How did you add value to the deal?

I've personally found the bulk of my Chicago purchases off the MLS.