I know that this is a big risk property but I believe that it has the potential for high return if I can get all of this permitting and renovation work figured out on the front end.I'm just looking for any advice on how to cover myself on the front end prior to making an offer and how to expedite the work so that I can get renters in and start recouping on the investment as soon as possible.

A little background: Feel free to scroll down for the main reason of this post...I started out in 2011 trying everything to make my start in real estate but was not successful until 2015 when we purchased our first duplex in Fresno CA.

There's a reason that people try to buy properties off-market and that is because you can find sellers who care more about terms than maximizing returns.So start with a conversation: you already presumably have some rapport since it's your landlord and you've spoken before.

Start to get some processes down.  

@Chloe Salcedoi'd start with a house hack.

@Anthony LafataPlease click on Get Started menu on top of this page and go to Pro Partnerships for our Home Depot discount.

I am excited to start building my portfolio and learning all I can.

If your goal is to simply take over a property that has a VA loan, you just start making the payments without bothering the lender. 

If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general.

Focus on absentee owners and start with the ones who live the farthest away and only own one property in the area since they have the least use for the property.You can also drive for dollars, looking for anomalies of disrepair and then look them up in the tax records and use a site like Spokeo to do cheap skip tracing.