You may need some significant cash, but the income is produced by your efforts - labor. 

I will say though that he did the following:1) Was genuinely specialized in 203k, FHA, HomeStyle loans.2) Was hesitant to give me quick run-of-the-mill loan estimates b/c he didn't want to give me a quote that would simply change the second i gave him additional info.  

To get this done, I know that my lawyer and bankers worked their butts off to get the deal closed and I want to thank them appropriately, so they continue to help me in the future.At a minimum, I am going to send these people a thank you card, but I also want to send a small gift to show how much I appreciate their efforts.  

It's also worth adding that besides being genuine and knowledgable, a REALTOR should also add value to the transaction.

May your efforts be rewarded!

Fortunately, my father is very supportive in my efforts to become a real estate investor.

It apparently doesn't so use this as a learning opportunity for future renters.The law typically requires you to make a "good faith effort" to find a replacement renter, then you can only hold the original renter liable for rent up until the new tenant takes over.

To this point, I have not found it worth the cost and effort for any of my properties to open the floor plan, but that could be tied to my market and price point. 

I recommend that you focus your short term learning efforts on how to properly screen and manage tenants. 

I know I’m getting the newbie platform SEO boost, but still - Superhost is easily achievable at the first review period if you make a fairly average effort, and it’s not actually that hard to separate yourself from the pack on Airbnb if you just do everything you need to be doing to run a good businessGood luck hunting to everyone!