However, I have to get a loan for a primary residence later this year so switching to a 1099 position now doesn’t make sense.

For our current (self managed) vacation rental purchase in Tahoe, we maximize furniture as that expense/loss in 1 year segregation as it can be taken against our primary income.

Traditional RE, working with investors, working with new buyers, holding a proper open house.

One time when I was looking for a primary residence an agent set up some type of account for me to search and access the MLS.

Do some people have some different stories how they bought properties in some non-traditional ways?

May I ask you whether that property is in a primary, secondary or tertiary market?

SHOULD I use the equity as leverage to invest in another property or should I just go through a traditional mortgage to buy the 2nd piece of property?

There is real estate involved, but its not the primary investment motivator.

I'm an active duty Navy Nurse in San Diego, CA and I'm interested in both real estate investing and making a career change to being a real estate agent, while using travel nursing as my primary income. 

If you want to open up your deal to non-accredited investors (investors with less than $1M net-worth excluding primary residence), there are very strict non-solicitation rules that would apply, to which your original post would probably disqualify you for.So, now you're left with an SEC 506(c) offering, which allows you to solicit accredited investors (net-worth of $1M and above), or taking general only partners, who have actual active roles with decision making power.If you're still want to take passive investors, you definitely want to talk with a good SEC attorney!