. - I try to keep notes organized and create checklists and procedures to refer to later (for property analysis, & due diligence, etc.).Courses (cheap or free): 1) Neal Bawa's Multifamily Bootcamp: Neal has a great data driven market analysis approach that ranks markets based on population growth, job growth, crime rates, affordability, etc. 2) Break Into CRE's Single Family Home Financial Analysis: This goes through an in-depth institutional excel model to forecast expected cashflow.Other: I spend a lot of time on YouTube watching popular real-estate videos, but I find books and courses have more detail.

The properties that I have found to have decent cashflow usually go into bidding wars and get turned into bad deals after the price is driven up. 

I'm hesitant to go to larger banks, because a) I know they don't tend to be as investor-friendly, and b) we're both self-employed, which has tended to scare larger banks in the past. 

Do you happen to have recommendations on property inspectors a I need one.

As for appreciation we all know  the value of a SFH is driven by home buyers and the economy as opposed to the income based appreciation of a multi.

Ok so maybe a I would save 5- 10k, but it takes a lot of work to get deals.

Sad to say, but Sales Agents are driven by commissions, big commissions, while Agents that primarily are focused entirely on PM are generally salaried, perhaps with a small commission when they procure a new client or rent a unit.

I'm just beginning to explore the power of this AI tool, but already blown away at the amount of applications it can be used towards.     

.- Talk with your lender or agent - they typically have the most accurate and precise tools when it comes to the real estate market your in- AI! 

Seriously -- not being a jerk here but seems you have a choice:   be married to your current wife or be a market-driven property manager/owner.