Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and I can't wait to get to know the other eager investors on here.

Hello Arnold, I personally used my 401k to buy my home back in 2017 so I know from experience its a pretty easy process.

From what I have read, the main benefit is early access to MLS for purchasing homes and saving on commission costs while selling homes.This leads to two questions: - Is simply having early access to new listings worth $600, or is it only worthwhile if I plan on flipping and selling a property on my own?

Read as many RE books as you can get your hands on.

@Richard Benjamin WilhiteRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

I manage around 400 rentals with 14 years of experience and have never been sued once.

those with experience in the industry will tell you that Service is far more important than saving a few bps shopping lenders all over the place.. not to mention all the credit pulls for menumber 1relationshipNumber two know they can actually fundnumber 3 rate and termsNumber 4  junk fee's sniff those out many times lenders on the private side spring those on you in the final hud and your stuck. 

With only one year of rental experience, I'm not sure what to expect.

We have rentals in Bartlett, and so far it has been a good experience.  

Listen to podcasts here on BP, read posts about this topic, and keep learning.You can do it!