Do not feel too bad as this site is full of hobby landlords that know nothing about operating this business.

@David Glascock, yes you have a lot of flexibility to operate under in your 1031 exchange. 

I figured if I could start out small or smaller than most larger apartments I could gain the knowledge and experience from owning and operating and apply that down the road with larger acquisitions.

  $750 is insurance greed pure and simple.  

I've done $0 to it (other than fix some operations)

The second you follow the masses you will be nothing better than mediocre... simple as that.This investing game i hard, rough brutal.

I use Venmo to collect and then transfer to my operating account used solely for my rental. 

Or, because it’s your standard operating procedure w/ no exceptions, take your pick.  

Ideally you want to get to the point with your buy and hold operation where you have enough surplus cash flow coming in each month where you can cover a line of credit for your properties.

It’s quite simple.....an fha buyer can not get a loan if they sign a contract with you within 90 days of your purchase, regardless of how much the price increased, period.