I'm closing on two deals in March and looking for another - so we are full steam ahead.

So, do you utilize traditional retirement vehicles, or are you planning on straight REI income in retirement?

By spending the extra, if you have it, and paying a down payment to eliminate the insurance, you'd likely end up way ahead. 

I have called the real estate commission and im not getting a straight answer because i will not get a refund if i get denied from the class

I’ve done plans for as low as $4k when it is a small straight forward job.

While your plan is to hold it for 25-30 years, you can always sell it after 10 and buy another one.As for property managers, they should contact you for larger repairs (the $ amount varies depending on the contract) otherwise they just go ahead and do the repairs themselves. 

First off, @Kyle Curtin, I’d say you’re a step ahead of most by using good judgement meeting potential lenders face-to-face at local real estate clubs.

I'm not talking straight Sec 8. 

Added bonus would also obviously be “saving” 3% on each purchase or sale (even though I know it’s not that straight forward unless I do a FSBO which I shy away from because I’ve always heard MLS listed houses get more traffic and therefore higher sale prices).

I still like listsource.com, and old school driving for dollars (with new apps that streamline the process of course).As far as message goes, I try and keep it straight forward, and let my mailers build off of eachother so I'm not sending the same thing every time.