I manage long distance, have contractors on speed dial, and several college friends I can call to run over to the house if needed for 50 bucks a trip. 

I don't say this to be harsh, but real estate is one of the fastest ways to throw money away if you don't know what you're doing.

Find one who likes speed of money more than deals that drag on, even if they get more interest/fees that way.

Speed is the key today.  

I'm trying to cover all bases and get up to speed. thanls

My husband is a general contractor and has quit his other job to free up time and speed up the turnaround time on the properties.   

Understand what they want and find it.Start thinking about how you want to structure your portfolio and what you will need for it to be done but in detail.The fastest way to wealth is using leverage.

My plan is to use that money for the down payment/ closing costs and use savings that I would have used for that to pay for rehab costs and ideally speed up the process for the down payment on my second home and turn my first one into a rental. 

My question is this:What books, blog posts (on BP or not), forum threads do you all know of that would be a good way to really get her up to speed on how REI works? 

Can anyone offer insight, resources, or educational material to get me up to speed on what it is?