Nathaniel,Glad to hear you are jumping in head first.

Hopefully the deal had enough meat on the bone for there to be enough space for you to still be able to successfully refi when you originally planned on as long as interests rates don't make a substantial jump. 

this is quite typical if your getting folks that will let you list or sell their homes in this very robust sellers market your totally shooting yourself in the foot by not being a licensed agent and take those listings and make bank.. the hardest part is finding sellers your doing that.. wholesaling is a very narrow niche that your finding out that investors that buy from wholesalers are bottom feeders and flippers who need substantial discounts to market.. 

But, your head is in the right place in getting experience before you just jump into RE.

All of these neighborhoods are in high demand because of the direction Philly is heading so as long as your numbers work, go for it.

Unfortunately, it depends substantially on your jurisdiction.Orleans parish (county) allows eviction filings for non-payment of rent, but aren't scheduling those cases yet. 

There are severe consequences if you get hit in the head with a baseball at a game.  

I am a former CFP and financial advisor who's now working as head of accounting/finance at a 500 unit multi-family operator and developer in LA who specializes in Section 8 tenants. 

Only extra thing is the acquisition charge the GP takes but that is because the GP fronts all the costs for due diligence, which is substantial.

I might suggest you make the decision once you know where you headed in December.