The leak had happened in the ceiling of the room, which is the tenant's child's bedroom.Few months have gone by, and I get a call from the tenant yesterday that the child has been having breathing problems and issues with the lungs for the past couple weeks.

Will or no will, high value or low value, multiple heirs or a single child, mortgages or no debts, all these things will be factors in determining the complexity of the case.Since you'll need to know the next of kin (either directly or obtained from death certificate) you'll also need to think through what you'd say to someone who just lost a close relative. 

Ryan,Thanks for the reply but I married an only child.

That is, you cannot invest in your own business, your spouse's business, your child's business, your parent, grand-parent, etc., your grand-child, great-grand-child, etc.

Maybe I shouldn't be making these decisions being 2 weeks from birthing our first child :)

@Steven Duck  what you describe the most likely way you would get started is simply with private money IE mom and dad aunt and uncle  good friend from child hood etc.seasoned investors would be a pretty tough go for some one with no capital and no experience.Suggestions:Now I know Minden is a small market but Reno is not... get a RE license go to work for a commercial broker ( part time if you can) and learn the business the right way.. by being around seasoned pro's who actually do deals.. on line training is hit and miss at best.. you have your rah rah buys like posted above who sell information... and you have your very experienced professionals Like @Don Konipol who give you a reality check. if you want into the business get in the business in a professional manner  sell some of these earn commissions learn as you go along then once you have put in some apprenticeship and have some experience to back up your desires you will find it much easier..

If I have an applicant getting $1000 month child support, that counts as $1000.

I have been doing plumbing contractor work in my family plumbing business since I was a child, and I have owned and operated a landscaping business for over 5yrs.

I am an educator by profession, but with the birth of my first child and a growing desire for financial freedom, I've begun to do a lot of research into the opportunities available within real estate investing.  

The move took us out to Fair Oaks which creates a very questionable timeline when you carpool with the wife and child to get back downtown for a 6:15 meetup time :(.