Typically you'll find investor friendly agents along the way that understand you're mentality. 

The husband is 89 years old and the neighbors and daughters say he is mentally unstable.

It makes it easier on you, and creates a possible "must act fast" mentality.

@Bob Bowling can often be blunt and "rough around the edges" but I have to appreciate his no BS get to the point mentality.

Given the almost socialist mentality expressed in the opinions that I see, I suspect you are catching blowback by folks who probably believe you should be allowing rents for $100/month, onerous rent controls, and insane landlord requirements intended to make it harder to get non-paying tenants out.  

I'm currently attaining a Masters in Counseling - think academic, not mental health.

The first step is mental and it seems like you're already down the right path.

I keep hearing 20,30 or even 15 k for your first year and that scares me, but I am not going to have a part time mentality and waste any time not doing something productive.

I keep teeter-tottering between the "if I can make it here, I can make it anywhere" mentality and "start small, grow big."

Buying a house for 200 k and selling it for 1 million is not illegal as long you are not making false claims,it is sitting on a oil field,the city is going to buy it for 2 million As long as the person has the capacity to enter into a contract without ,mental illness, intimation etc it is perfectly legal.Poor judgment or sour grapes about a purchase can lend itself to lawsuits,but the fact is this is the way the market works .