Meanwhile I'm getting the education required to be an agent and will evaluate after completing the education on whether or not I want to move forward with 'taking the test.'

The cash flow margin feels so slim. 

Assuming you go FHA, your down payment is back down to 3.5% which expands that purchasing power, and with FHA you have to pass the self-sufficiency test on 3-4 unit properties. 

The true test is when you initial sphere runs out where do you generate business and HOW?

The IRS uses a test of 20 factors in the determination. 

Doctors used home office to treat emergency patient failed the regular test in the tax court. it will not qualify for the home office deduction if use is only occasional.Exclusive-have to be exclusive, and has no other use of the space. 

@Thomas Stanley I second the recommendation to keep the security deposits in a separate account, if only to keep your bookkeeping and record keeping easier.Also, this is an unlikely/slim chance, but if you were ever asked about, in eviction court, how you handled the security deposits, I think it's a mark of professionalism to have kept them in a separate account.

@Andrew Martherus: multifamily inventory is VERY slim in the Phoenix area.

test the market, do a property or two and if you like how it goes you can always grow from there. 

Thanks Scott, I did run some craiglist test ads and got 4-5 response within a week or two.