Today your competing against silly money basically in the MFR space

If the counter layout just has straight sides (no corners), you can buy 8' wide sections of basic laminate counters for under $100 in stock at a lot of stores and cut them to the length you need.

I signed up for this course to get some basic info on real estate investing some time ago, but subsequently discovered BP and read other people’s review of this course.

You can decide if you want to repeat with another detached duplex to quad leveraging your increased knowledge and experience or if you want to use your VA loan and increased net worth to buy a long term family home (no house hacking).This is basically a BRRRR combined with house hacking leveraging the VA loan. 

[Basically, I reckon programs like this just want people like you to be their bird dogs.

Basically we've put our buildings for sale at prices which, while still fair to a buyer, would financially trump keeping the properties (even if management were free!)

I'm in the bay area where literally anything you ever want to do to a house costs MEGA dollars, so I'm trying to learn how to estimate roughly the costs of basic repairs versus major repairs.

The only areas not in a flood zone that flooded were those areas that were affected by the opening of the dams.There are two basic flood zones: The 100-year zone and the 500-year zone.

In towns where basic homes are under 100K, home ownership is very affordable. 

I have no experience with that but I think you are basically right with your answer.