I'll have to double check if PA has any state-wide law that forbids you from stating in your advertisements that you do not accept Section 8 Tenants.

We set a goal to "go wide" by buying a number of properties while on active duty, and then we intend to "go deep," by paying them off. 

If it's in great condition, and can sell for top dollar, be the realtor.A lot of people focus on one strategy and don't realize that when you're doing direct mail or marketing, you can arm yourself with a wide variety of tools and it not only helps you, but helps the seller.

We are in a sellers market nation wide, that means the seller is in control and not you the buyer.

Composite is hotter to the touch in the sun and requires more support - so if existing deck it does not make sense imo to change to composite as the spacing for support may be to wide and you can sister but its just not worth it imo.

People are making a killing doing short term rentals all across the US (Las Vegas, Denver, Seattle, Portland, Miami, DC, Austin) and it is much more profitable than a long term rental by a wide margin.

I wouldn't put in oil, but then, gas is widely distributed here.

I had similar goals when I started exploring various crowdfunding and alternative investment options a few years ago (though I also wanted to sprinkle in some more speculative angel/venture investments), and ultimately ended up making investments in more than a dozen different platforms across a fairly wide spectrum of asset classes.To the extent you want to make Real Estate a big piece of the Alternatives portion of your portfolio (and if you're looking for income, then that makes a ton of sense), @Ian Ippolito's site is a fantastic resource to help you with your due diligence.While some flavors of equity crowdfunding may not meet your income goals, there's a growing selection of offerings around business financing like revenue shares, receivables financing, and litigation financing as well that may be worth considering.

Platform performed due diligence and investor communication varies widely as well.  

You may, however, be able to track down the listing agent/brokerage who normally handles their listings and get a heads up before it hits the market and some insight into their pricing strategy.Pricing strategies also vary widely once it hits the MLS.