I learned an immense amount and I am excited and looking forward to providing more value to the city of D.C.!

This will help you immensely when the time comes for your first deal.  

Definitely at first I'll be financing and using leverage to expand my portfolio at a much faster rate than if I tried to pay all cash but at some point I'm sure I'll be asking myself when I need to slow down and get some properties paid off.I think that when I get older and want to slow down immensely maybe to the point of completely retiring and sitting pretty on my investments that I'll be more concerned with having properties paid off - but then again, by the time I get to that age, properties will probably be close to paying themselves off anyways.

No, this is not an African Scam.

Also, it would benefit you immensely to learn as much about the subject on your own before even approaching someone you expect to mentor with.

But it would be immensely helpful if there was a way to more specifically determine which areas would qualify, e.g. a map.  

@Eric Schenck I don't know how many years you have left, but the pension and benefits will help you immensely when trying to buy and hold real estate!  

I would prefer the lowest down payment option, as my goal would be to have the unit(s) filled within 2 months so that I can generate enough income to create positive cash flow, even if only a couple hundred in the mean time.The location I am looking at has began a process of gentrification which is slowly driving housing prices up, now is the best time to invest and I am eager and excited to educate myself on ways I can get my foot in the door now, literally.Any and all help is immensely appreciated!

Every reply in this thread has helped me immensely.

Purchase properties below fair market value (FMV) so  on day one of the purchase you already made an immense of profit on just the equity.