Well again, most of these issues would be resolved by working under a seasoned real estate professional that could teach them the ropes and could steer them along the straight and narrow.My recommendation is for you to go ahead and get your license for the basic knowledge and the credentials to legally do your business, then find an investor that is buying for themselves and succeeding in this business and volunteer your services for strictly for the education.For more of this soapbox speech and practical tips on how you can actually find that person, here is another link!!

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They're also being investigated currently by the SEC for their advertising practices.

Clearly my expenses for the wooden siding maintenance will be higher than brick as will need to repaint and touch up every 5 years or less, and the service for the window units will likely be less (especially since my lease states the tenants are responsible for them along with appliance repairs under $150 for that rental) along with them being cheap to replace and fairly serviceable.You have to look at each component of a given property and estimate the maintenance for it based on what you know, what you have seen as best practice here, ways you can minimize or avoid the expense, and based on quotes that you get from contractors as part of your diligence period.  

Is there a central regulator that lists all the licensed contractors for a particular region?

No where did I ask for this and more importantly I am being charged for this letter in the summary of charges they provide (25 dollars).Is this common practice?

Originally, I started trying to get a license in California because I lived there, but the class I was in for Principles and Practices ended up being the worst possible class ever because the teacher was completely useless (he literally spent 99% of the time talking about how great it was to be a broker and how he's a broker in 3 states and how most of us would fail at being a real estate professional).

If you feel that isnt practical pls sell them to an architectural salvage place 

And I would speak with my CPA about what tax regulations impact me with this.

This description is a do-it yourself remedy with no guaranty, but it is by best practices.