My finances are structured, and I am still collecting information to give me more confidence and direction.

Not to mention the amount of confidence and enthusiasm you will gain after having your first investment property!

Any time I buy a deal without a real estate agent I just use a standard purchase contract and work with my local preferred title company to help us navigate the deal and all of the paperwork.I've done this many times and admittedly am still a bit nervous when a realtor is not involved, but you have to have confidence in the title company ensuring that ownership changes hands appropriately and that everybody is adhering to the terms of the contract.Our purchase contracts out here in AZ give you an out during your 10 day inspection window (although I generally shorten that window to ~5 days).

Hello,I need a real estate bookkeeping accountant team that I can actually just call if I have a question about what they are doing with my books without being pushed off onto a calendy and told My business doesn't include engagement.

If you work directly with the listing agents to get better responses, are you confident that once you are under contract that listing agent will help you through the process to a good outcome?

Starting out I would be more concerned with training, support etc vs commission split, as I'd rather have 50% (along with all the experience, confidence and knowledge gained!)

So you answer your questions:Education:Figure out first the people that are successful, then figure out how they became successful, then think on your own and evaluate if that what they did makes logical sense and if it is to your ethical standards.Marketing:SEO, Facebook ads, Youtube ads, Social media engagement, offer free value (see... like what I am doing here on BP) HANDS DOWN!

However, I'm confident in my ability to navigate these obstacles if enough resources are available to research and help me through the process. 

If you go to a meet up and just start asking about someone’s last deal, then you are going to get a lot of knowledge and confidence that you can do the same! 

Having a great team behind you is a good cure for that.They will hold you accountable and let you know if it is a good deal and not to pass it up or if you are being completely sane and it is not the right deal.I look forward to seeing you engage in the community further and level up as an investor!