This is a great place to learn and to connect with people so take advantage of all the great resources.

As to the quandary posed by the OP: The root of the issue is that it basically sucks to be an RE investor these days.

Prorate the rent for the first month.   

(Imagine the entire value of your property being just the 20-25% downpayment on a 4-5x larger property and the resulting depreciation.) 

The one big caution I would have for investors on the design is don’t make the room size too small.

Also what does the city say is the assessed value of the property on your taxes (it will be different than the appraised value, but should give you an idea).

It’s just the nature of the beast.

The license doesn't cost more, the service and quality does.And a note on that cost, in my experience hiring contractors, only a small percentage of the cost savings was due to finding the right guy who is willing to work for less.

I am 14 hours into the 20-hour online course offered by "RealEstateU."

Yes BP is the right place.