I want my income to go towards something I own.

I’m a W-2 employee in a high income tax state.

I also understand that mentorship is a two-way street and I'm willing to earn that help in any way that I'm able. 

If you held them less than 1 year you would pay at your income tax bracket but if you held them over a year you would pay LTCG (Long-term capital gains) which for most people is 15%.You'll always be able to add money back into a brokerage account regardless of whether it's the LLCs or your own.Hope this helps

After five years you'll have earned $90,000 in rent income and gained $34,000 in appreciation.Buy four houses with $50,000 down on each.

As long as all of your expenses are about $500+ less than the rental income I'd say it definitely makes sense to keep as a rental. 

My recommendation if you decide to invest out of state is to choose cities in safe and economically diversified areas with above-average income and population growth.

You can/should sell if you don’t want the steady rental income and you don’t plan on investing in real estate for the rest of your life.

Section 8 is guaranteed income on the first, allowing me to scale my business.

-Should I calculate potential earnings from the farm?