(I guess I could always read Dennis M's comments though to get cheered up!)

I guess I have some research to do on the different neighborhoods. 

I guess my questions are:How much cash reserves should we have on deck before we purchase our first property?

I am guessing you haven't closed yet, and you would be entitled to your earnest money deposit back. 

I plan on meeting with a lender next month.You are right, seeing how much I qualify for will help me narrow my search.I guess I’m struggling with whether to rent my current house out and buy another home,live in it and then rent that out (house hack)Or if I should just buy an investment property, see how it goes and then move out of my current home when I am more financially stable. 

My long distance manager is solid as well, although he generally only managers a couple of mostly lower maintenance properties (although one may need a new roof soon).From all the horror stories I have heard I guess I have been pretty lucky with PMs which is really good for me since I'm not the active landlord type.

I'm guessing that everyone is looking for something that cashflows really well.

I guess on the lease agreement we should add this just to make things clear on who is responsible when something like this comes up between us and the tenants.

I guess the implication that one who doesn't carry a lot of debt and isn't fretting over numbers that in many cases are just estimates anyway is unprofessional just irks me.

I am guessing you don’t have the cash to pay him, thus the trade?