Hello all, my wife and I are non-traditional workers (self-employed and tip-based respectively) looking to build our path to wealth.

Any rate a too little suggested tip is to join your local REIAs they have more experienced investors and eyes and boots on the ground.Your other option is just cash out REFI.   

@Kevin Stringari very good tip, thanks!

@Christian Albright I agree tip hill and uni are hot right now :) I have a mix , lyncourt , eastside and northside .

Do you have any tips on researching/finding a good turnkey provider or property manager?

Any tips on getting a lender to get up into the 75-80% range?

Since I'm an unlicensed (planning to get licensed in future) what is the best legal advice on tips so I don't make any mistakes starting out. 

I give a lot of tips and tricks.  

It sounds like you've already got a good start and done a great deal of research.A great place to start is https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521-events-and-happenings which you can use to find like-minded people in your area.You'll find some helpful tips at https://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere.

I have a tenant in TN that has been gradually building a pretty extensive garden in the backyard (property has a huge backyard) and transformed the garage into the green house, where they grow lots of starter plants.