I’m trying to figure out my plan of attack, and any suggestions or thoughts would be great, as we don’t have many people to bounce ideas off currently.  

It's almost impossible to compete with the retail buyers attacking on-market properties.

So some cities are starting to work with hosts to attack tourists dollars. 

He was a 23 year old schizophrenic drug addict who would take a toilet or a sink, ohhh and my closet doors and throw them out the attack window when anyone would come close to "my" house.

What happens when he has a heart attack and can no longer do any work. 

I only have a small chunk of savings for a down payment so this is my plan of attack.

I am currently knee deep in literature as well as developing a plan of attack to get in the market...  

Virtual wholesaling seems to be my best option, because I currently live in Berlin, Germany, and the language barrier(negotiations/legals) would put a very high degree of downwards resistance on my new business potential than is tolerable IMO, and of course if I can master virtual wholesaling, then I can finally run away and join the circus and STILL become a kazillionaire as well (operate a location independent business).As a total newbie, I am attacking my planning in the following way.

I know you mean well, but your dad will have a heart attack if you end up squandering his hard earned down payment.

Depending on how big you plan to grow these ventures I would put each business into a separate LLC so that each asset is protected from attacks from the other.You can do it yourself, however get educated on how to properly run the corporation after the fact.