Building a place isn't the same as managing a place, but I am not an expert on this so best to check with a pro.

What are the best tips and strategies you would recommend for someone like me who is just beginning their journey?

The standard sell it and rent it back for 4 years is probably the best bet.

i was just reading over it and looks like you cant rent it shorter than 7 days and looks as thought it needs to be zoned b1 and up but anyway in my opinion str wont make any money in the area the occupancy rates just aren't there to cover the costs. i mean if someone what's to do it by all means have at it but im out.fox lake is limited to i believe 60 rentals at any given time but again if you look at the Calanders of the existing listings they're just not booked very much  

Anyways, interest rate is decent but not under 5%.

I like RR better as RR ISD is more highly rated than PF and also it is more developed with more amenities and retail. 

This is the best terms I have seen in the market thus far.

Is this best approach? 

For example:A quadruplex at $500,000 with 0% down and an interest rate of 5.75% with property taxes of 0.6%, $4,000/year in home insurance and $5,000/year in repairs will have a total out of pocket of $3,980.60/month.

Looks like mortgage is over $4K/month on a 30 year mortgage.Purchase Price $950,000Down Payment $70,015 7.37%Mortgage Insurance 35000Closing Costs $18,000.00 4% $18,000.00Interest Rate 4.25%Term in years 25Financed Amount $914,985Payment $4,956.82Renovations/Repairs $20,000Out of Pocket Costs $108,015Monthly Assumed % Manual InputRent $6,000Property Mgmt $480 8.00%Vacancy $300 5.00%Maintenance/Repairs $180 3.00%CapEx $45 0.00% 45Insurance 50 0.00% 50Property Taxes 419.7 0.05% 419.7Rental income tax 0.0 25% 0.0Expenses Subtotal $1,475"Annual % Increase(rent + expenses)" 2.5%1% ruleGross monthly rent should be >= 1% to total purchase price0.63%GRM (Gross-Rent-Multiplier): the lower, the better13.2Cap Rate (Net operating income (annual) / total purchase price): the higher, the better5.72%Net Income After Financing (/mo.) = Net operating income - financing costs-$432years Monthly CashFlow1 -$4322 -$3183 -$2024 -$845 $386 $1637 $2918 $4229 $55710 $69511 $83612 $98113 $1,12914 $1,28115 $1,43716 $1,59717 $1,76118 $1,92919 $2,10120 $2,278