I just graduated from college in June with a degree in mechanical engineering, but I've found that my true passion and interest is in real estate.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

4) Prop Mgmt - I am not new to real estate but new to STR and live 6-7 hours away from the area. 

I always have a back up plan with real estate .

We have also used Salesforce.com, but it's serious overkill for most real estate investors and it's not FREE.

Join a local Real Estate Investor Association (or, REIA) in your area and go to their meetings regularly.

What you pay with labor will depend on if for instance one of my units still has a good pad and tack and strip then I just pay for carpet and installation cost.What you will pay will also depend on how much you are installing at one time.I don't like Berber for rentals.The design of the loop once it starts unraveling it can unwind pretty good an dis harder to get certain stains and pet stuff out of it.With carpet you want a Nylon carpet even if the cheaper version.Some carpet guys will try to sell you the rubber composite carpet stuff which is the really cheap stuff so it will stand up to tenant abuse.The problem is it can only be cleaned usually up to one time and then you need to replace it again.So I would rather get a cheaper nylon that can be re-cleaned many times over after installation for an additional .10 to .15 a sq ft extra than the super cheap stuff I will have to replace again.If you get 1 sq ft for carpet,pad,tack and strip,and labor install and it is Nylon you are getting one heck of a deal.Even at a carpet place usually you are at .40 to .50 for the pad and .50 to .60 for a cheap carpet.Then you have to do material to install and labor.I have seen sometimes if you have to do a small area you can pick up quality remnant pieces for real cheap and hit that type of number or buy in bulk.

If I buy a small business that includes real estate, it is possible to assume the existing loan (at a lower rate), and finance the additional amount up to asking on a second position mortgage?

I use an investor friendly real estate agent that you can find here on BP. 

I have no real estate experience, but I am looking to venture into it.