I figured that getting my license and working in an agency with successful sales people will give me a wealth of knowledge as well as earn the opportunity to get income through my sales skills (spent time as a financial advisor for Prudential Financial, I also had stints in sales with AFLAC).If you can, I would love some awesome feedback on everything from: *What I need to know about working with a brokerage firm (membership dues, office politics, commission splits, location, size, etc)*How I should start investigating my market,*What kind of time and money I should be prepared to invest to get results in real estate sales,*Tips on getting into the commercial sector,And anything in between!

In Fresno i'd stick to downtown or tower district, they tend to have the best rental markets for the area as far as caps and quality of tenants. 

I would talk to a financial advisor, particularly one who is not motivated to just sell to your mom.An idea I heard on one of the earlier episodes of the podcast is investing in high quality, discounted notes.

What I mean is you can sit down and tell her the above: the changes she wants are cosmetic, non-material things that do not affect her quality of life or safety.

Will the quality of flooring be the determining factor in someone making an offer on the house?  

Thank you Antoine for the tips. 

Any suggestions, tips, or links would be greatly appreciated!

If you find a good manager, they will ensure you get a quality tenant that pays top dollar and takes care of the home.

Dependent on the company when laying the shingles they need to "step up" the shingles as well as use 4-8 (again dependent on the company) nails per shingle so it ensures good hold in the roof just some quick tips.  

.$4300/month is at the high-end of affordability for me, so seems like the only way I'll be able to purchase a home of the quality/location I want is to liquidate (at least some portion of) my real estate portfolio.