I would Read and research for months before you put that hard earned money into a place . as in all investing the rule goes like this ; donot invest into things you don’t understand 

I was told you can gain equity by renovating or by reducing the loan payments.

Our Capital Investor earned a guaranteed 15% on his investment.

I did get 2 out of 3 dropped down , one I did real well , had the taxes reduced $1000 a year .

These Realtors have earned the designation from The National Association of Realtors and specialize in representing international buyers purchasing in the US. realtor dot com has a filter to find these agents.

It's not a dumb idea whatsoever and the point is not necessarily to be profitable, but to reduce the burden of a full mortgage payment. 

I was hoping you all could help me navigate these two extremely different pieces of advice.My short term goal is to be able to make enough off of rental properties to have a passive salary while I earn my Ph.D.

Even then, it’s usually smarter to reduce the purchase price by that commission amount otherwise be taxed on it once your 1099 comes around.

My initial thought was to seek out RE sales associates and try to entice them to partner up (offering them bigger commission than they're currently earning).Was just looking for some ideas and advice.Thank you all in advance!

If you can either cut or drastically reduce your living expenses by living in one of the two units.