@Kevin Konrad, congratulations! You seem like your on the right track and have the right thinking! You can still invest as a student, your schooling years can count as time "on the job" or as work experience in some situations if what you're going to school for is in the same field as your employment.
Additionally, the income from your rentals can be counted as income. You'll need to be sure to shop lenders ( for example if you're doing a 203k or Fannie Mae Homestyle, which are both renovation loans). However, some lenders are going to have strict requirements & guidelines while others can be more forgiving & accommodating .... particularly if you're wanting to buy a fixer upper and use a combination of the pulled equity along with a small renovation loan.
This way, you gain the experience of a renovation (which can be light -medium and will all be handled by contractors), you can show payment history and build credit with a smaller loan amount. You'll have that experience under your belt as an investor, so when looking for future opportunities, you have more leverage. Lenders won't see you as a 23 yr old kid that inherited some property (risk), but rather an experienced & successful investor. You'll actually have some skin the game. Just my 2 cents...you have options though.
