I've been here since the beginning, or real close to, and am happy to help you navigate and learn the site.As for where to invest, it depends on your goals, your tolerance for risk, and how much control you want.  

@Roger D Jones and @Dominic Mazzarella hit it on the head: try seller financing first and see what his cash flow needs are and/or if you can reduce his CG taxes. 

I have taken numerous courses in RE and am passionate about learning more I am based out of West TX- Midland/Odessa area

Learn as you act. 

What I would like to are some reading recommendations for learning the meat and potatoes on the processes of completing rehabs, and the processes of working with contractors?

One of the things I learned early is that the margins on a deal need to be substantial. 

Hi @ThomasRoy Penland Very interested in learning more about your team.

I also learned they had a $50K water repair a few months earlier, which likely made it more attractive. 

You’ll make less money but you may learn more along the way for future projects or reduce the headache factor (which can be significant).

Keeping clean records from day one really helps when tax season rolls around.