We rarely have issues, but it seems like such a small investment in time and money to take one day to verify. 

By adopting the house-hacking method—living in one unit while renting out the others—we plan for the tenants to cover the mortgage and gain valuable property management experience.

For the time being, might as well get a mortgage in one person's name.Best of luck.

Expanding your portfolio, streamlining tenant management, diversifying income streams, building a network, and planning for growth are also recommended.

I'm really busy with my w2 job working all the time to fund my investments. 

They claim to be a “ professional money manager’, wealth manager, investment manager, financial advisor, etc.  

He seemed like a big-time agent who works with a lot of long-term investors.

Here's a good folder setup.Bank StatementsCredit Card StatementsProperty Management StatementsMortgage StatementsSTR Platform StatementsInvoicesReceiptsClosing Documents (Purchase/Refi/Sale)LeasesCheck & Deposit ImagesVendor ContractsW-9’s & 1099’s

My goal would be to start within 1-2 years and get some more experience with the construction process, project management, financing/budgeting, etc.

Interest income is interest income, unless you decided to roll some of the current cash into a self directed IRA at which point your interest income would be deferred for a later time and allow your funds to grow tax free.