First, the vast majority of jurisdictions will require an architects seal for anything 3 units and above.

And being creative comes from a vast database of knowledge of solving problems. 

  (1 month of vacancy per year is 8.3%, not 5%)Do you find that 5% is sufficient to cover your maintenance expenses?

@Mayu ThavaThat approach will work, with the caveat that the operation will need to be of sufficient size to justify the extra overhead (bookkeeping, corporate filings, etc) of two corporations.For most folks starting out, it makes more {tax} sense to hold the properties in their own name and simply deduct the eligible business costs against all your income.  

The vast majority are scamming the system and will not complain.  

They are all negotiated directly between agents, but the vast majority of referrals I work are 25%. 

But I get the vast majority of my online listings through Craigslist. 

My credit score is in the high 700s, but I'm thinking my credit history won't be sufficient to get a loan; I am hoping it might be possible to get one under my sister's partner's name if they decide to invest in me/the property as well (they recently bought a property in Austin, Texas together and are actually the ones who introduced me to BiggerPockets). 

In addition to the options above, if you want to be self-sufficient you can use the property search tool at usleadlist.com.

Because there is a vastly big difference between say 1% of $200,000 or 5% of $1.5 million.