And thank you for your service....Sounds like you have a solid plan for pursuing your REI career - I agree with Dmitriy that BP has great resources available to you.

@Joanna Golden Deductibility of expenses revolves around the "in-service" date, which is tax talk for when the property is in a livable condition and advertised for rent.Once the property is placed in service, operating expenses can be deducted in full, even if there isn’t any rental income just yet.

They scammers exchanged emails a few times, confirming dates and asking regular questions, promising they can close early. 

Is there a regular REIA meeting I can attend?

For the time being I plan on doing all the listing/advertising, data collection/analytics (excel), and payment collection myself (paypal/venmo) until I have enough properties that using a service like Cozy or Avail becomes cost and time effective.

Return on investment may be good because you could buy cheaper here and still collect regular rent. 

At the very least, you can consult with them and ask about their services and what the state requires to get an idea of what you would need to do without hiring them.  

The 5% interest is considered a regular interest income.

A tenant wants to sublet my property through Airbnb and provide me with a steady income higher than a regular rent, but I'm struggling with what kind of insurance I should be getting in this case.

It would take a 4.5% ROI just to cover your admin costs and break even.You could look at simply opening a self-directed IRA with a low fee custodian like IRA Services Trust Co in the Bay Area or Kingdom Trust Co in KY.