How to do it now

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My name is Justin and I am 22. I have wanted to do rei since I was in High School. I figured the best way to get a jump start would be to go to carpentry school and learn as much about houses as possible. I went to a great trade school and recieved my associates in carpentry and construction technology. I worked in the field for a couple years and am pretty confident in building/remodeling a house from top to bottom.

My plan was on track untill I fell in love, got married and had a beautiful baby girl. Construction did not pay enough to support my family and save/build credit for rei. So, I reevaluated things and put off my rei dreams for a lil while to focus on my family. Luckily, I fell into an awesome job working for the nations largest producer of oil and gas where I make a decent buck. On top of that salary I still do a lil construction side work. All together I make about 75k a year and rising. Sadly, I wrecked my credit when I was a little bit younger. I paid off all my debts but, I still have a 600 credit score roughly. My wife is only 20 and has almost no credit, but nothing negative.

My mother is one of the best re agents in our city and I have 2 veteran rei cousins at my disposal. I am actually renting one of their properties right now. I have always wanted to buy and hold multifamilies(landlord), and flip a couple times a year for some extra cash. Now, I could build my credit and save for a couple years and invest the right way, but I hate throwing away that rent money every month. With the market the way it is and lots of motivated sellers out there. I was wondering how the lease with option works and how I could use it to my advantage now over waiting. Oh and wholesaling really does not interest me at this point.

Ideally I want a duplex for my 1st property. Rent one half to cover most of my mortgage and costs. Then move onto more mulfifamilies and eventually a sfh for us. However I am open to almost anything right now. No matter what I would be able to get now, I want to live in it. At least for a year. Remember, I am a very skilled carpenter and have lots of connections in the industry. I plan to do all the work on my first few properties. A decent duplex only in need of a facelift goes for about 50K around here. Same for an average sfh. Yea, housing prices in my town south of Pittsburgh are nice. I would really be open to anything. I definently need to educate myself more, and I plan to do so. I have lots of books under my belt already and I scour the internet every day.

Basically I am just asking some of you seasoned vets, what would you do in my situation. Little to no money and below average credit. That situation will improve with every month that passes, but I want to know what (if any) actions I can take now. I have no debt other than a small education loan and an automobile note. All bills are paid on time and up to date. I make good money now and am fixing my financial situation, but I am impatient and am tired of buying my cousin this house. I would like some more info on owner financing and lease options. What to ask or say to the owners and what kind of paperwork, insurance, misc, is involved. What kind of negociations I can expect and what can I bring to the table in my current situation. I know almost nothing about this. I ordered a couple books from amazon to fix that, but anything you guys can offer I would appreciate.

I apologize for the long post and scattered thoughts. Just thought I would shoot this thought out there and see what you guys can come up with.

Thanks in advance