For instance, you can get your license in Massachusetts but you aren't able to practice until you affiliate with a brokerage.

Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice.

I want to purchase a property within 6-8 months of finishing my loan payments and ideally I would use this year to continue learning and crunching numbers on properties that I find for practice, but have no idea what my budget should be because I have no idea what loan amount I might get approved for...I would like to do FHA for the 3.5% down and looking at qualifications I should be able to qualify, but I feel like until I actually sit down and see what exactly I can get approved for, there is a huge gap in my planning...

@Marko Kustudia To be compliant with NV laws, you are supposed to have a contact person within same county or 60 miles:  NRS 118A.260  Disclosure of names and addresses of managers and owners; emergency telephone number; service of process.Regardless of that, having a property manager for long-distance ownership is really a business best practice anyway.

In general, rental real estate is considered passive.There are some exceptions.You normally hire a professional because he/she is knowledgeable in the field that they practice in.

I'm unfamiliar with their practice. 

Regardless of the IL shenanigans, best practice is to build a relationship with someone you can trust as opposed to feeding off the bottom price.  

They do volume and work many different markets simultaneously. 

As Jordan mentioned, your most realistic and practical route is to secure a W2, save your capital, build your credit, and minimize any outstanding debt you owe.

The world of maintenance has changed quickly to stop the practice of 30-day billing.