Surely, an organization the size of Bigger Pockets can do better than this. 

Just carpet and paint for two units that size will easilly be 10k and chances are you are going to need other work.

A portion of the rent ($500 per month) and the yearly taxes would go towards a down payment when the RTO term ends.

I already have one property in town that is about the same size and I'm using the insurance cost on this place.  

Baby Boomer are getting up in their years, many are down sizing, moving in with family and even passing on.

Secure commercial construction financing for the vertical portion of the build.

(We are confident in these numbers for rentals these size).

Luckily earlier this year I got a 100% HELOC on my primary residence and using it for the down payment and closing costs on this new home and only using a small portion of the HELOC.

Hard money, HELOC on your primary (if this isn't your primary), friend and family loan, hell even CC depending on size and timeline of rehab/ sell or refi.

Here are the laws in regards to this stuff.4735.01 [Effective Until 3/20/2019] Real estate broker definitions.As used in this chapter:(A) "Real estate broker" includes any person, partnership, association, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or corporation, foreign or domestic, who for another, whether pursuant to a power of attorney or otherwise, and who for a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration, or with the intention, or in the expectation, or upon the promise of receiving or collecting a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration does any of the following:(1) Sells, exchanges, purchases, rents, or leases, or negotiates the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or leasing of any real estate;(2) Offers, attempts, or agrees to negotiate the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or leasing of any real estate;(3) Lists, or offers, attempts, or agrees to list, or auctions, or offers, attempts, or agrees to auction, any real estate;(4) Buys or offers to buy, sells or offers to sell, or otherwise deals in options on real estate;(5) Operates, manages, or rents, or offers or attempts to operate, manage, or rent, other than as custodian, caretaker, or janitor, any building or portions of buildings to the public as tenants;(6) Advertises or holds self out as engaged in the business of selling, exchanging, purchasing, renting, or leasing real estate;(7) Directs or assists in the procuring of prospects or the negotiation of any transaction, other than mortgage financing, which does or is calculated to result in the sale, exchange, leasing, or renting of any real estate;(8) Is engaged in the business of charging an advance fee or contracting for collection of a fee in connection with any contract whereby the broker undertakes primarily to promote the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or leasing of real estate through its listing in a publication issued primarily for such purpose, or for referral of information concerning such real estate to brokers, or both, except that this division does not apply to a publisher of listings or compilations of sales of real estate by their owners;(9) Collects rental information for purposes of referring prospective tenants to rental units or locations of such units and charges the prospective tenants a fee.