I'd like to be able to pay for their college with cash flow so I'm in it for the long haul, the kids are all under 3 right now. 

However, there are plenty of ways to make money buying such cheap property...it depends on who you ask but starting out I suggest going for an easier location to deal with and after  gaining some experience then toy with a more "challenging" area.

I purchase a toy gun.

This often actually works out cheaper, by the way, so don't immediately switch to by the tip without doing the analysis.Second, while I don't think it is likely to be true in Alabama, in large parts of the Northeast, garbage hauling is controlled by certain families of Italian extraction, and pricing is what they say it is.

You tilled and wheel barrowed all that dirt in 5 hours ............at your age . ( I am 53)I start chuckling and said there were no "guys" just me and walked him around back and he saw the tractor ,  Hell no , I like big toys .Then he tells me he was getting prices from landscapers in the $ 3000 dollar range and they told him it was a 3 or 4 day job.

If you are going to leave your equity and fixed income investments in place for the long haul, Vanguard's index funds are hard to beat.

If you have to haul the soil any distance, those hourly fees for the trucks add up quickly, especially if there's traffic. 

This is how the west coast can out perform most midwest type markets in the long haul despite the lower initial cash flow.

Let's say you waited until after the tenant moved in to take care of that tree and their car is parked in the drive way or in front of the house, or has toys on the lawn, whatever, and a limb, whether big or small,  falls on their property, bingo you've got a lawsuit.Tenants may say they had to move due to you doing the repair because of the smell or the dust going on or the inconvenience.

Like a toy box with parts and train cars of different size trains, you can pull parts out and build your train set, but only certain tracks and cars will fit, you can't just use any part and make it work. :)