People told me I could hire someone to help setup QB for my rentals but this would have cost a couple grand.

You can increase rents, understanding the business' position, and that will increase RE value.

A house hacker with a  W-2 income can often times float some rehab costs on a duplex through cashflow or supplement some with their income.

I pulled this off but with an FHA 203k loan which allows you to wrap the cost of renovations into the loan. 

I will continue to buy in CO due to the overwhelming positive factors that come with owning homes in CO; Appreciation, strong demand, location preferences, long term trends of CO housing market and strong rent increases.

So I calculated an example. 20% of 352K is $70400 but there's also closing costs.

Whatever you use, make sure it's state-specific.6) Putting a cap on utilities is smart, especially when you're starting out and have no idea what they're going to cost you.

The one month's worth of rent covers some costs (cleaning, readvertising) and the rest is a hedge against vacancy.

The question for seasoned investors is, are mentorships worth their cost, or is doing your own research just as good?  

All of these things will certainly increase the value of the property which means a jump in the equity I can utilize.