I would focus on repairing your credit. see a specialist (faster) or open credit cards little by little and pay them off each month. im not saying increase your spending, just saying instead of buying that tank of gas in cash use a cc and immediately pay it off. while your credit is repairing, start banking cash. build a budget and stick to it. 80K a year is good money, make it a goal of yours to retain as much of it as possible i.e. don't eat out, don't go to the local pub, drive a modest paid off car etc. once your credit is up and savings is up, use the 80k a year plus savings to get leverage. then use that leverage to buy your properties. if your looking for a get rich quick scheme, id advise u skip over RE. don't get me wrong, you can make money fast by flipping homes but you didn't mention having experience in that area so I assume you don't. another option if your really in a hurry is to find a partner with experience and cash, and see if you can buy into one of his/hers deals. you would have to market yourself for this and see what type of skills they may need that you have. maybe you can buy in and use your web development skills to beef up and/or maintain your partners website saving them money on outsourcing. that might be your ticket into a partnership. since you mentioned your helping your friend, maybe you can partner with him?

So my first property I was hoping to have on market needs it’s gas pipes (from street to the meter) replaced.

They are both cash flowing nicely and have excited us to push forward to a new level.I am a Texas A&M graduate managing a welding shop for the oil and gas industry. 

In fact, I had to yank the 3rd floor kitchen, pull the 3rd gas meter, and "upgrade" the electrical to two separate service panels instead of 3. 

You can also obtain electric and gas info easily.

Basically it's like buying a brand new car at 40% off , except is saves you about the same amount of money that a car would costs you in gas.

There was a Twilight Zone episode where these guys rob a bank and horde gold bars, and manage to take a sleeping gas and wake up 100 years later to spend their booty.

I always assume electricity, gas, water, sewage, trash, snow/lawn care, and wifi to be paid by tenant (except HOA). 

Do the tenants pay for 100% of water/sewer/electric/gas/trash?

Sure, you could argue that you'd be collecting rent from your tenants, but good luck finding a multi that has enough positive cash flow to cover the entire mortgage, taxes, insurance, vacancy, maintenance, capex and your living expenses, food, gas, utilities, etc.