Thanks Eddie. I'm not sure I'm well qualified to give advice with only a handful of deals in my history. But, the main thing is to keep positive and keep looking. Identify some areas you would like to invest in and get to know them well so when you see a property come available you'll know if it is a good deal or not. Don't just look at all of Tampa, but focus in on a few neighborhoods and get to know them.
Thats how we found our place. When we saw it come on the market knew it had tons of potential but had to wait out the seller making some price drops and then we came in with a rather low offer and finally settled at a price we could work with.
I think house hacking is a great way to start investing, I've done it twice now. My current place and right out of college in Albany, NY I bought a duplex. Its valuable experience in renovations, landlording, and provides some great benefits (like offsetting your mortgage).
There is nothing like empirical knowledge, so get out there and try. The worst that happens is you fail, lose some money, but will learn a great deal. Good luck!