I have focused on one neighborhood of the city that I believe will have a steady rent and is fairly affordable and am direct mailing them religiously!

We are in search of our 5 property.

I agree with you, having the pro account and ability to search through a million members to find ones near you and then having the ability to send a message to them should be fine.

Sales are moving in the neighborhood.  

However, if you decide you would like to enlist an agent to help you with your search and purchase, I'd welcome the opportunity.  

Yes, I searched a few different municipalities in various states and all have various levels of accessibility (free online records, require written request, must visit office in person, etc)

A quick search would have saved you the trouble. appreciate it. 

There are a few new neighborhood developments in my area in good locations close to schools and larger well established neighborhoods.

That is, you can capitalize it in your net purchase, as it was part of searching for the home you ultimately did buy.

How you ultimately financed it, upfront when you purchased it (or how you might refinance it later) is irrelevant.Just do a simple search on the internet for depreciating rental real estate property, you will find a virtually limitless number of sources that can explain basic depreciation mechanics - its not rocket science.