I've been driving for dollars, writing down the addresses of distressed properties - the ones that stick out like a sore thumb within a neighborhood of nice/really nice houses.I get home and look them each up on zillow and then on the county's audit wesbite.

To be able to quickly provide comfort and security while maintain independence.

It's based on the IRS' 6-yr window to audit returns with "substantial errors", as opposed to the commonly known 3-yr window for regular audits.

I would have to go independent on the advising which is fine.

If audited, you start way behind the eight ball on your claim that all of it was offset by expenses.  

I knew I wanted to invest in real estate and gain financial independence about 5-6 years ago.

For those of you that have your real estate license, do you work for a real estate company (like remax, coldwell, etc) or do you do it independently?

Call a local independent insurance agent and get a rough idea what it will cost for a rental policy not a homeowners policy.

Once we reran the numbers my DTI was perfectly in range and I could qualify for the loan independently. 

If your goal is financial independence, how much cashflow do you need?