Saving taught me the basics of how to manage money... which will be a large portion of owning/managing real estate.

To get the discount, I've learned to buy solo, buy off-market,  buy different asset classes like mixed-use commercial, mid-size MF or industrial.  

Do not lose sight of the principle that growth rates magnify with the size of your investment. 

We live in the upstairs portion of the home and rent out the remaining unit.

Any payments made to the sponsor for the 1031 exchange must reflect the fair market value of the services rendered.There are some disadvantagesShared risk means a shared reward - Sharing a portion of the risk for the investment means you're also required to share any rewards from it as well.

Also, she let her brother (and his wife at the time) put a pre-manufactured home to live in on a portion of the land as well. 

Purchased an older 50s cottage/bungalow home that has a decent sized basement.

I suspect that most are very similar, but obviously you will still want to study the state specific portions for the exam and take some state practice tests ahead of time.

Ensure that you're comparing apples to apples as well, meaning the properties you use for comparison's sake should not only be of a similar style, size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms but should also be in similar quality to the level you intend to remodel your rental.If you are working with an agent and are trying to buy on market, they should be able to help with this.

Run comps I’m sure there are plenty of places that size if you are in a good sized vacation rental market.