If your mortgage is $2,500 then probably $500 of that is going towards paying down your  mortgage< so that’s another $500 profit.

I have no credit debt and $12,000 of student loan debt I'm looking to pay off within the year.

You have to read a set pf plans to answer the questions, etc....And if/when you pass, you'll have at least 5 years of paying dues and losing money before you're any good.

I am looking for one that:- provides checkbooks, and - pays a decent interest rate.

You do have Loopnet, Crexi, and other auction sites, but those deals have already been looked at.It depends upon your knowledge, and the ability to either deploy your own capital or raise it where you should start.

Due to covid, he stopped paying his share of the rent which is ok as I now have bigger problems to contend with.

No cash flow real estate investing can be frustrating to newbies... you are doing all the work, and not seeing any 'pay' for the effort except on paper where you property is worth more.  

We are hoping to retire to this home in 2-10 years and figured we'd buy why rates are cheap and let someone else pay the mortgage for awhile.

No one wants to turn in pay stubs, taxes, etc. if they can avoid it.

They have mixed reviews but apparently have a deal where they pay 20k in lender fees if they don’t close on time.