From there, I can help you get started if you need help. 

Whether it be I actually start out investing in something, or if I'm able to connect with somebody to show me the ropes as a mentor figure.

In my area in Reno Tahoe, Nevada there was a slight dip in rents and now most of that inventory is rented and rents have started to go back up. 

Start buying warranties so you don't have To deal with the headache. add 0.5% to the purchase price, make it part of your sales process. hedges and shifts the risk. you can get 10 year builder policies underwritten and approved. that's how we do it. anything we can do to lower the risk for ourselves is ideal.

This is what I recommend for you to get started in your real estate journey:1.

But its not like the old days when my dad started in the 60s where he sold these for 100.00 down 50 a month but did 500 of them a year :)..

General business insurance is probably a good start. 

I started investing near The Ohio State University in 2017.

I would be Uber pissed off if one of my neighbors started to use their house as a STR. 

you can achieve a lot more than 1 house per year. what is your starting cash position?