New siding and windows and painting exterior and interior (trying to decide on replacing carpet or removing the carpet for a renter friendly idea), fencing replacing broken garage door and some landscaping. quite alot of hours and Im doing all the work myself which is adding up.

Don't fall for the idea that just because a property is in a white area, 3 houses outside of blue, it is safe.

I am trying to figure out if having my surname in my company name and URL is a good idea.

If you've been following the real estate market in your area, then you should have a good idea on what is a good deal. 

Is it a good idea or an unreasonable ask in my offer to have a contingency stating I'd like to get a professional appraisal done and offer is contingent on my satisfaction with the findings? 

I've already got a good idea of my home's worth and am not concerned with the valuation part of it. 

Another idea is there's a brisk market here for short-term rentals so if you live here or have a VERY good ability to manage your business from a distance you can beat 1% easily and maybe even start climbing a little towards 2% if you don't factor in the cost of your time to manage it.

Essentially had three 401Ks with different custodians and simply did a “rollover”.Luckily, my laziness paid off as most folks are told to roll it over to the current employer... bad idea unless it’s either mandated or required (usually <5K vested balance per 401K).

If the idea of doing that keeps you up at night, then it's not worth it!

I work full-time and my wife stays home with our three kiddos so the idea is to be able to do things on our own time, make offers, check out properties, etc.Local REIA meet-ups are definitely on the immediate to-do list.