Home is located in the best school district in Louisiana and would go quick, whether I sell or rent. 

The reason he asked was there's a high end, and low end appraisal depending on what you need it for.Now, if it's intra-family, and you're getting it below market, to play it safe, do the sale based on the appraised amount, and have the difference handled as a gift.

So, I'm very interested in prospect of using a portion of my net worth to invest in real estate now before this opportunity is lost (i.e. from not being able to get a mortgage, or at least as good of one, post-quitting)*.So, I'm looking to try to acquire my first rental property during the week of 7/3-7/10 - which is when I'll be in the area I'm looking to invest in, and be living long-term starting in August (aside from traveling 90% of the year).I've watched a handful of YT videos and read some blogs on real estate investing in the last day, but I'm looking for any quick advice that might make a big difference.

The RE market is still going up, and would say safe to Dec'18.

A quick Craigslist search for housing shows a 1br at $1000, a 2br at $1500, and a 3br at $1600.

So I'm surprised by the minimalist bookkeeping.Thanks @Linda Weygant....I had the same thought about the IRS: I bet if they were audited they'd come up with some figures pretty quick!

They are a low cost of entry so I don't see much harm in putting 3 or 4 on your property and seeing how quickly you rent them out.

As @Andrew Beauchemin mentioned in his post, the availability of that information will definitely make things move more quickly.

A quick google will get you what qualifies you as an RE professional.

The deal is hot and I am acting fast, so I am learning quickly and just putting out feelers for loving, gentle advice.