Like @DJ Cummins I think that getting your feet wet house hacking is always a good option - especially in a hot market like Dallas.As a new architect (congrats, btw!)

My school of thought is to get your feet wet in the business by owning something closer that you can have a bit of hands on management to start, that way when you are ready to expand, you know what questions to ask of those who may do management for you when you look in areas where you won't be managing the assets day to day. 

So, I've getting my feet wet in understanding where funds can come from for deals when you yourself have very little liquidity.

I am not quite ready to give up my nine to five but would like to get my license and maybe work part time as a realtor to get my feet wet and see if I can make it go at all/enjoy it before diving in.

While I am there I would like to purchase a 2-4 unit property and get my feet wet in wholesaling properties. 

The difference is that you will be giving that decision making right away, unless you do a 51%-49% split, but good luck explaining that one - just like the prenup discussion.I went through a similar situation with an ex (no marriage) of my own, we had been together for over 5 years, living together for 4 1/2 of those years, had everyone telling us that we should get married and all that mess, and thank God I did NOT listen to them and did NOT have her name on any of the documents or bills associated with the house...that conversation went over like a big, wet fart (Step Brothers (2/8) Movie Clip - Job Interview (2008) HD - YouTube) in church, but we still made it another 4 years. 

Is the lawn wet anywhere?

I didn't know much about real estate at the time, so I used it to get my feet wet and have learned tons since then.

I am thinking of investing in long distance properties (duplexes/fourplexes) under 200.000, starting out with a single family home to get my feet wet.

However, the Portfolio lender will look at items such as track record of LLC, Track record of member-manager of LLC, credit profile of all member-managers and the quality of the deal.I think you should get your feet wet and buy a personal property in your own name and focus on investors after at least a year of personal investing.Investing with other people's money adds another layer of complexity.You need a connection with an attorney to draft up an operating agreement, form an entity with limited liability, etc.