While I was in Pittsburgh playing football, I got my real estate license and started selling houses.

Personally, I have no issues making the full monthly payments from the start, so it seems unnecessary to pay the buydown payment just to have lower payments in the first two years.Additionally, my lender said that if I refinance before the 2-year period is over, the remaining buydown payment would be applied to the principal.

I started with multifamily and was able to purchase several properties, and juggle a business and the deals simultaneously.

I've have read many books, listened to many podcasts, and read many posts on this forum and still do so, but I sat on the sidelines for a number of years just trying to save enough money in my emergency fund before starting to save some down payment money. 

This obviously isn't my only marketing channel, but it is one of them to go allow with cold calling and texting.I appreciate anyones advise.From what I have noticed with these type of lead services, they start to have lower quality leads the longer they are around. 

They are easy to get started with an the support has been OK compared to others 

I am starting to believe that I need to learn the tax laws myself since I have lost so much money paying unnecessary taxes because my previous CPA's are not familiar with all laws or they just plug numbers into a software (without strategizing) and then I get hit with huge tax bills that could have been legally avoided. 

It sounds like you’re in a solid starting position with your first rental and a clear vision of where you want to go.

My suggestion would be to jot down all the activities that are taking up your time, then start researching how other STR operators have solved those exact problems.

BiggerPockets is full of resources designed to help you along your journey, whether you are just getting started or a seasoned investor.