I am not experienced in JV's.

This is fantastic research, and I would mostly agree with both of you, but as an investor and commercial/investment real estate agent in Syracuse I can confirm that we have the good and bad that comes with a lot of the cities in New York outside of NYC.

And even if you're not working with an agent, do you have someone advising you?

Now creating a list of General Contractors that I can seek to lead the rehab and happily bring them more business afterwards by referring them to a network of real estate agents and investors. 

While I have solid income and good credit, I'm uncertain if I'm too new to take advantage of this opportunity.I'd greatly appreciate advice from experienced investors on how to approach this.

Here is the thing @Dylan Lersch...everything ends up being a mindset.In my mind, you can't get the wrong house BECAUSE that's the one got lol and things will come up and because you have a growth mindset you know you will avoid them the next time...The only way I've found to avoid mistakes is to learn from other people, get as many smart people around, and ask as many questions as possible...BUT still, at the end of the day, each one of us has our own individual journey you can get as many smart people and ask as many questions but nothing replaces experiencing things yourself.The people I have seen scale the quickest, but systems in place the fastest. 

The buyers agent will have you sign the form that clearly states what they require for commission.

This service includes managers experienced with Section 8 rentals, so it could be the perfect solution for your needs in San Antonio.

I called the agent and acted like it was no big deal.

If your agent isn't knowedgable they can over or undersell you and that will affect your costs.An umbrealla policy was reccomended to me by my agent (a family member) and in general I think it is a really good idea and usually a  pretty cheap option for risk mitigation.I don't have a specific company to reccomend but hopefully this was helpful.