It does not mean a good home on the MLS (which many will claim) It is actually a specific type of investment.

These goals should be very simple:1 - You need to pay off all your personal debt2 - You want to have enough passive income to cover all you monthly bills3 - You want to accomplish this by a specific date.4 - You want to have fun doing this.Once you set these numbers, you "reverse engineer" from there, establishing as series of groups (elements of the steps above) called "measurable milestones".  

I have called quite a few and settled on one, The Marston Group, but they don't work with family real estate investors, specifically with military exemptions enough to truly understand our needs.Does anyone have a great recommendation?

I'm not sure on the specifics of the VA loan program but this question might be better directed to other lenders in your area.  

The landlord specifically says:"I want to you to know that I needed to use some of your security deposit money to fix the floors.

This is a very specific local question. 

Definitely sit down with your CPA to discuss your specifics- but above is a fairly common guideline

You can move another way and actually start an LLC for an EIN number, but you should consult an attorney for more about that in your specific state. 

What are the specifics on this to avoid capital gains tax in this situation?  

I did look up the local laws on rent increases but did not find anything specifically stating that rent could not be increased to market rates if a new tenant is placed.