Quote from @David Pulido: Talk to a few lenders to confirm, but I'm pretty sure lenders are forbidden from paying or accepting referral fees.

As long as you Have the income to pay for both houses and you have to live in it for one year.

When considering investment properties in South Carolina, it's crucial to pay close attention to property taxes.

I currently have about 9K saved up and was wondering, is it better to pay down 9K of my 70K debt now?

With that in mind, here would be my priority order based on what you have written:1) Have all the houses inspected so you know about major deferred maintenance. 2) Pay for an appraisal on all homes so you know if you are getting a good deal. 

Go to Etsy and search for "rental property tracker," and you will find hundreds of nice spreadsheets to track 10-20 rentals, usually for under $10.Software has extremely helpful features like online payments, marketing syndication (click a button, and your property is advertised on multiple sites), electronic document review/signing, maintenance tracking, and owner reports.

I did a local renovation where I was on site every week.I attempted OOS BRRRR.

If the rent of that 2 bedroom was $1600, that person would expect to pay $800 rent and maybe another $250 for electric, water, heat, internet for a total of $1050 all included.

Do you pay them a flat fee for each time they stop by the property to help the guests with something?

Anything you find in these areas you're going to have to pay a very high premium for because all investors want to buy in this location.