My goal is to learn as much as I possibly can and connect with experienced investors along the way.If there are any local meetups or networking events, I’d love to hear about them!

Some will slip through your fingers, sellers will ghost you, and contracts will fall apart at the last minute.

One insurance claim and it will pay for all the premium you paid in last 10 years most likely.

Last year was back to earth; a glut of available properties drove the rates down for everyone and a drop in visitors also increased vacancies.

This can be the difference between setting goals and achieving them.

I don't care if I'm ahead or behind of anyone else because my goals are not relative to anyone else's progress.I get your point that staying active keeps your skills sharp and that if you're active when others aren't you will have access to opportunities that they do not.

Is her goal to be nice and provide some of the gains or reduce her taxes by trying to split income between her and her ex?

It’s worth looking into now to get ahead of it, but also depends on your comfort level and goals.

The last few STR deals I closed where my client used a second home loan, they ended up putting down 20-25%, preferring to have more equity in the property versus giving away thousands in fees to the lender. 

Once you're ready, create a goal (e.g., "I will buy at least one single-family home, duplex, triplex, or fourplex before the end of 2019") and then do it.