Seems efficient to have my agent, PM, contractor, and lender all under one roof, but not sure that's a good idea?

They are efficient, cost conscious, very accommodatingsimply the best

I do my own finance tracking through some basic Excel spreadsheets and I am looking for a better, more efficient way to keep the books.

Energy efficiency (low utility costs for the tenants)5.

For me, it's vital that the people I work with communicate efficiently with me and are willing to answer as many questions as I have.

@Daniel HessUsing an IRA owned LLC is generally a more effective and efficient way to manage an asset such as rental property in an IRA.  

I've found that the most efficient use of time for wonky scenarios like this is to collect all income docs and shoot it over to an underwriter or two.I believe I know the answer, I'd say I'm about 90% certain (not a lot of truck drivers are in the market to become homeowners in the SF Bay Area, so I'm thinking of other professions w/ per diem for my mental examples).

The contractor actually gets PUNISHED for being efficient and spending thousands of dollars on tools to make him more efficient.

What is the easiest and most efficient way for you to network with people?

As you can see from the responses @Johnnie Hawkins you will get opinions on both sides and both with make good arguments for their opinions but in reality, there is only way correct way to do this legally, ethically, and efficiently.