I have a photography and art background, so I'm not looking to hire anyone, but I want to do better than compact cams or a phone with a wide attachment lens.

They will want to be your 'partner'... do not even consider the offer.If someone has a skill or talent to offer, and that YOU ACTUALLY NEED, make an assessment of what it is worth to you and then offer to hire them for that amount of money.

I can't tell from your post, but if you are just speaking of multifamily meaning a duplex or triplex to house hack to pay your mortgage, then I would focus on where you can get a good professional job first, then look in that market for a place where the numbers work to house hack.If you are looking at larger multifamily in Memphis, then try to talk to @Erik Nowacki who moved from CA to Memphis to own and manage multifamily.

Just saying ,the expenses for out of state properties is hard to manage when you have no physical, eyes on, level of work, or professionalism done,, until a problem really surfaces and then you've paid thru the nose, jump hoops to figure things out after the fact. 

We want to start investing in real estate to offset that income by one of us becoming a "real estate professional".

You'd be well served to enlist the help of a local RE professional that's really familiar with these.. nuances, so to speak.There are at least a few of them on this forum.

I would need to hire a local management company (or, at least, a local on retainer to be available to deal with issues).

I hired an attorney to incorporate.  

Seller financing comes in when the seller doesn't have enough equity to hire a real estate agent, or doesn't want the hassles of fixing up the house or needs to sell right away and doesn't have a lot of choice.

7)How does the hiring process work with a broker once I pass my exam?