Keep in mind that I am not the most practicing agent in terms of helping buyers and sellers but with the focus of buying my own househack and multifamily properties!

It looks like they have the best deal.It comes down to price, # of practice exams, and user interface, really.

First piece of advice is contact your local real estate commission and see if it is legal for a licensee to engage in that practice in your state.

Building up a real estate empire is a fantastic idea in theory, but in practice unless you're incredibly lucky, you'll be better off putting it in some sort of truly passive investment, like Redfin stock.I believe MOST people here do not realize how problematic real estate investing can be, the degree to which luck plays, how little is truly within one's control, and how inefficient and illiquid the real estate market is. 

Is it a normal practice?

You'd have to check the Washington landlord tenant law and ask around to see what common practice is.  

Practicing to identify a rental property based on the 2% rental rule.

Does anyone know of investors that specialize in rural areas that may outline best practices when looking in 'country' areas? 

In practicing compromise, we came up with a plan.

Moving forward without knowing the regulations is poor business practice.