As a real estate agent who actively works multis in Worcester i feel that the Agent comes first. 

If strictly real estate, do you want to be active or passive?

Having self-employment activity (with or without an LLC) allows you to setup the plan as long as you do not have any full-time non-owner employees.

Part of it is my need to think more about strategy...before actively reading and listening to BP books and podcasts, I was planning to start with one house per year and use VA and FHA loans to maximize the use of capital and snowball that way.

Some elements to consider are:1) Do you have the capital necessary to execute the renovation plan?

Being in the tech space, maybe you want to find a way to blend the two, like others have with different products they've developed and brought to the market.Maybe you'd like to invest passively in real estate, there are a ton of platforms/services/sponsors for that.Then of course there are the more traditional active investing paths like self storage, multifamily, mobile home parks, office, warehouse, parking lots, raw land, the list goes on and on.I recommend researching the different strategies here on BP to figure out which is best for you.

It is as is but this was damage from another unit and the leak is active.

Moisture readings at the stains taken with an electronic moisture meter were normal at the time of the inspection and no significant damage was detected; however, leaks can become active under certain conditions if proper repairs have not been performed.

We have also talked to appraisers in other parts of the state and tried to pick their brains on what they actively look for in addition to the numbers.

@Omar Khan recently purchased a 138 unit apartment complex in Jacksonville Florida and very active in acquiring property here.