I both sell and purchase properties via the lease option method and one of my protections as the lease option buyer is knowing that the seller / owner cannot sell or refinance the house out from under me as long as I have that recorded option against the property effectively creating a lien. 

If you don't mind, I'm going to share with you a step-by-step guide that commercial brokers in NYC like myself would use:1) Check market demands: Before anything, you'd need to find sales and rentals reports for your neighborhood and check the current inventory.

They are only buying, and I would NOT plan on being a listing agent now or in the near future2) If I were to want to switch to commercial real estate, what are the first steps to take? 

When we heard he called the building inspector on us my husband and I went over there right away and he and his wife stepped out on the porch and started yelling at us, calling us names, calling us a slum lord.  

If you'd like some tips on finding a great PM company and what to look out for, I recently wrote a blog on finding the right property manager as an out of state investor, and many of those steps will apply to your situation.

There have been stalls every step of the way, because as I said my tenant is a professional.

Ultimately, our goal is to utilize the BRRRR  method but that would be years down the road when we can bring more cash to the table. 

What training course do you suggest to learn this method?

I've known multiple people in this area that do BRRRR method but they've always had an in (real estate attorney, contractor, realtor, etc.) in order to hear about the good deals. 

Luckily I have a friend who does design/build for restaurants to help at least guide me on the basic steps for the renovation so I am not flying entirely blind there.