As I understand, all rents are considered to be part of your income, in a way or two, so if you live rent free with an occasional handyman work, i think that will work out best for you, being 23 & 21.  

Even though we has a good amount of savings, I was loathe to touch it because I didn't have a consistent way of making it grow (banks pay less than 1% and stocks are too volatile to count on stable growth).Now, with over a dozen buy and holds that cash flow well and some other passive income sources (dividends and notes), I feel less qualms about splurging occasionally because I know the passive income more than pays for it.

I think I would forward a video to PM occasionally so that when I ask about my property they better assume I have others eyes on the case and I already know the answer to my question

I performed ALL other work by myself with occasional help from Family members: Complete Electrical Revamp (New wires, Panel, Meter Base, outlets, etc), New Pex plumbing, Shed revamp, Landscaping, Windows, flooring..and basically everything else. 

Sometimes a local investor might take an interest in a new investor but even then their time is valuable so they might can answer the occasional question but if someone wants constant help they do not typically have time for that.

We never did a $60k loan anywhere....we raised $25k through GF and I expected to put in the rest, if any.The property was always secured with the exception of a rear bath window that was broken into occasionally probably by someone looking for a place to get out of the weather.  

Zillow numbers aren't always accurate but I occasionally check out the current Zillow value to just give me an idea of where it might be. 

Which is the beauty (and occasionally the pain.)Is there anything you'd find in a PPM that would instantly make it a no-go for you?

I often have to "talk down" policies as insurance people like to bloat policies, but there are always willing to come down to a reasonable policy.

Ours was an occasional rain issue in one corner and also a bit of an uneven floor.