I think since I am new to really diving into real estate (versus casual interest), the extra access through Pro will be helpful, at the very least for my first year. 

I told her she can use a certain amount extra on the smallest loan and pay mininmum on the rest. 

We have the extra $54k and $30k for closing to toss on top of our cash out for the down payment.I'm worried about the cash out refi on the California home at a higher rate than we have already.

Buy an extra one in case the first one doesnt sit right.

Sounds like you should hire a professional bookkeeper to manage your financials on the day-to-day or month-to-month basis and have him or her report those earnings to a good CPA who is knowledgable about real estate.

Purchase Price: $350kDownpayment: 20% = $69kClosing cost: $6kRenovation/Repair cost: $40kUnit Make-up: 3 Units (each 2 bdrms, 1 bath) Rent: ~$1800-2000/unit (per rentometer) (Ran numbers based on $1800)Neighborhood: C neighborhood (not ideal)Built: 1901 (Most questionable part, many items may need replacement and extra maintenance annually) Thank you in advance. 

@Jason JamesPros:Invest in what you know or what to learnBuild your networkTax-advantaged (Tax deferred for Traditional IRA, Tax-Free earnings for Roth IRA)Influence the outcome of your investment (With the stock market, all you get to do is watch.

Local meet-ups, FB, BP, LinkedIn are all great places to meet with agents/brokers who are successfully already on the same path you're looking to take.That being said, I spent over 6 months working out of a small brokerage, learned a bit but figured I needed a change.I went to a BP meet-up and got introduced to another agent in my market with very similar goals (learn, earn and invest) and soon afterwards I made the switch.

It has no earnings, it pays no rental income, you just hold it hoping someone else comes along and will pay a higher price for it than you did.

It has really changed my outlook on real estate investing and given me that extra motivation and reassurance I think is needed to make that first leap.Andres