I do like the idea of setting myself up as a professional property manager.

I am wondering if it is a good idea to get started on a deal now.

What a bad idea to look for only free systems. 

There are some cool ideas, but they come with a few things to think about, especially since you're just starting out.First up, there's "seller financing."

you get the idea... save save save until you have at least one downpayment and one years worth of expenses saved up. 

At this point the value of the house is still increasing but not at the same rate as the previous years for a number of obvious reasons (high Interest rates,  age of house, etc.) and at this point I'm not sure what my next move should be since I don't like having all that equity tied up in the property and borrowing against it (HELOC) doesn't seem like a good idea since banks seem to be charging even higher than "normal" interest rates because the house is not my primary residenceIt's been almost 2 yrs since a I moved out of the house and I know my time is running out before we'll have to pay capital gains on the property if we chose to sell it [unless I do a 1031 exchange of course] but wondering what other options I might consider.

Would my wife be onboard with that idea?

I like Kevin's Idea, I would like into Relay for this. you can have around 20 Checking accounts and 2 Savings accounts, they allow you to pay with checks that they said and ACH Payments, both free, and it connects to QBO with ease.They also allow you to have multiple EINs(LLCs) under one log in. you might have to make transfer, but having a Bookkeeper who is on board with your structure would allow you to not have to focus on that part as much.This sounds like an idea I may use for future clients I would have.Good Question!

If the property can cash flow or has potentials for appreciation, it would be a good idea to do a cash out refinance and move on to the next property. 

The idea is for my sister and I to combine all three properties revenue, risk and maintenance in one LLC and pool the money to buy out the siblings AND keep separate deed/titles to our individual properties to do with as we wish after the 5 year buyout.