According to him, I can "make the numbers work for me (investor)" and then we will decide whether it makes sense to move forward      a.

There are fewer properties available so many properties on the market are carrying higher risks for less reward.If you decide to invest out of state, make sure you spend a lot of time discussing renovations, management philosophy and housing location.  

CoC is my main measure, but I use the 1-2% rule to decide what I want to consider researching further for rentals.

The tenant can decide not to exercise the option and buy somewhere else, or we could lower the purchase price, or the tenant could come in with a higher down if they really wanted the house.  

If I decide to move to another agency that offers more training and support for a new agent, after they put in the time and effort to get me all signed up, business cards, website, various accounts, etc. 

I am not well versed with this section of the tax code, but advise caution and due diligence if you decide to proceed with your strategy.The BRRR strategy is designed for rental properties.   

A friend and I have decided to move forward in a partnership.

I decided recently to work on getting my real estate license and becoming an agent to help me learn the business more and have a better stream of income to help me in this pursuit.

Several months ago, when I decided I was going to stop doing direct mail for several reasons (cost, management of all the returned letters, time lag between sending them out to hearing from people, etc.), instead I decided to start building my own lead category verticals, comprising of Probate, Pre-foreclosures, Evictions, Violations and so forth; get them skip traced and call owners, instead of mailing them. 

In this case, who decides whether the sale should be conducted privately or through public auction?