They may lie or hide information that a REALTOR is legally obligated to disclose.Best practice: assume everything they tell you is untrue and verify it yourself.

Does anyone practice both and want to share how it works?

The areas that are consistently good have already developed and who knows whether they will grow from here. 

Hi Greg, well you can't practice until you hang it and I think its important to visit with at least a few options while you are taking your license and passing the test. 

Disclaimer: While I’m an attorney licensed to practice in PA, I’m not your attorney.

Having a separate reserve bank account is also good practice (but not necessary) since it will give you a better idea on how much fund is readily available for reinvesting or withdrawal. 

It's obviously less "risky" to do the small home nearby, but the Florida place comes with potentially high, consistent rental income, nearly year round.

I have my favorite gear classified ad sites and get much better deals at those sites.Note a value add does not need to be constrained to simply rehabbing a property (but that is what my value adds have consisted of). 

They were very consistent and had been there for more than 2 years.

Walk properties and practice what questions to ask, what problems to look for, etc.