Sidewalks should have no weeds or grass growing in any cracks.HOUSEKEEPING INSPECTIONSWhen the Landlord or agent visits the unit or conducts a maintenance inspection, the Landlord will schedule a follow-up housekeeping inspection if there are concerns that these minimum standards are not being met.Landlord will advise Tenant of the specific correction(s) required to establish compliance, and also advise the date that the dwelling will be re-inspected for corrections.

Would you advise a larger CoC for your first deal as a springboard?

THIS is what a "realtor" who want's to bill themselves as a REI professional need step up to the plate and do because these people are taking significant financial steps and it's owed to give that or be honest and say it's beyond your knowledge base and are just a realtor, not capable of advising on INVESTING with real estate. 

Regarding your strategy, if you like decent returns, I would advise to mainly focus on SFH's. 

@Jeffrey DonisThank you for the feedback, i’ll definitely take your advise into consideration.

My accountant advised we could switch property into an LLC prior to closing, but the intermediary said it should be rented for a year prior to prove it was a rental.Tip toe-ing somewhere I don’t want to be. 

Any advise would be much appreciated!

@Paul SonWe are advising against Real Estate Professional status since OP states they have "high-paying W2 jobs." 

I'm looking for advise on whether I should look at private lending or where I should go. 

The Federal Reserve Chairman advised today that inflation will continue to exist/increase for the next 15 months.