you can make potential tenants answer questionnaire about waste practices and then put in appropriate clauses in your lease. if they are going to generate haz wastem you could require a bond or L/C. that should cause the more careless to look someplace else. 

I know that performing notes are the way for a newbie to cut his teeth in the industry , but i am lost at where to start

With conventional IRA you can only invest in stocks, bonds and mutual funds, where most of us have very little or no control.

The reason I ask is that there are many financial advisors that will naturally want to steer your investing towards investments that they know and understand best (stocks, bonds, ETF's or REIT's). 

My girlfriend and I have just started corporate jobs at high salaries and would like to be a part of the FIRE movement.We've been interviewing financial advisors and all the ones we've interviewed look down upon real estate as a viable long-term investment strategy and choose to promote stocks and bonds instead.Can anyone recommend a good financial advisor or financial services company in Houston that is pro real estate?

The two guys quoted didn't add too much.If there is very little opposition it could also mean that despite what is written it might not have real teeth.

If so, besides a broker's license, you're must be bonded as well.In my case, the entire rent checks are issued to myself.

max the 401k, but change allocation to bond.

I'm already familiar with Stocks, Options, CDs (Ladder), Bonds,..etc.

Linda / Matthew - I've hired a handful of crews for this rennovation and the plumber and electricians were the only ones I know for certain were insured and bonded.