It’s never a good idea to take a 30% or higher hit to your retirement funds when you can invest without any penalties or income tax ramifications. lol of course, but I do understand why he "chooses" to practice it that way. 

So if you just create an LLC I can go look at the county clerks office online and see who the owner is.

There are some lessons that can only be learned through experience, and A HH will provide incredibly valuable lessons that no mentor, real estate course, book or podcast could ever teach (though, I'd still recommend reading up on relevant RE resources, listening to podcasts, etc.).

One of the main advantages of course is affordable real estate prices (according to Redfin, the median home price in Dayton reached $115,000 ).

Of course, the rate can be slightly steeper than the conventional loans where it is a full document loan, where they need to qualify you based on your income.Alternative way, is to acquire the 2nd property as an investment property with conventional, while putting 15%-25% down payment.

Of course, we don't know your full financial picture - income, assets, etc. to make a personalized decision so speaking with a lender, financial advisor, real estate agent would certainly help. 

I’m aiming for a mix of appreciation & positive cash-flow after some value add work is done to the property over the course of first year of ownership.

As for mentoring, maybe check out local investment clubs or online communities like Reddit's investing or personal finance subs.

Do 3 a year and in 5 years you are retired, and having fun.And of course, You can continue doing these and build generational wealth.

Of course there is the obvious such as the podcasts, forum posts, and blogs here at BP.