-Hang out with the family of someone who's successfully invested in real estate.

Tenants should be responsible for repairs necessitated by abuse or neglect.

"Absolutely not (hangs up phone)".This is a numbers game and it gets a hell of a lot easier after you get your 1st unit, keep going!

Lately there has been some groups of dealers selling drugs on the corner and at times they come and hang out on my front porch.

You could also hire a mentor to help you as well if your want to go it alone and do your own deals.Either way you need to make sure you thoroughly understand the business so you can make prudent decisions so you can hang on to and grow your capital.

As a licensee, depending on laws in your state, you "hang your license" under an employing or managing broker for at least 2 years, after which you may make application to become an employing (responsible) broker, or an independent, non-employing  broker (some states allow independent status, while others do not). 

Also, please don't leave us hanging on the outcome, for happily-ever-afters are best shared.

For a 1M home, the commission is 10's of thousand of dollars.Should I just go with a fee based broker who gives me 100 percent of the commission or is it worth it to hang my license with a more traditional broker like Keller Williams?

It may look complicated at first but once you get the hang of it, it really is not that complicated.  

Agents hang their licence with a broker and the broker is then held liable for their actions.