Luckily my wife has been saving for about 25 years and even though school now is pretty expensive we are still getting by.  

Looked into it once before but for the rate they gave me I didn't like the fact that I lost some capabilities my current loan servicer offers like putting my loans on hold if I go back to school (and subsidized loans' interest being covered during the time).

I am in the process of finishing real estate school to get a better understanding of what I'm getting into. 

I thought about taking a course that people wanting to be agents take just to get the education, but then was told those school are only exam prep schools... and won't necessarily give me the education I'm looking for.  

Neighborhood, school districts etc etc)How can you tell if it's a buyers or sellers market?

Whenever dealing with Turn Key properties, absolute due diligence is a must: check out the company through the State, BBB, and references; background check the people you are dealing with; get copies of tenant documentation; perform your own tenant qualification; order a house inspection; get an insurance quote; review area crime reports; speak with area businesses and Chamber of Commerce; review local school district; if you can visit and drive the area, etc.  

Most people are not that dedicated and it shows.The passion I have left for this business is because it is a mechanism to fulfill "the great American dream" of upward mobility they used to teach in high school Civics.

In order to reach this goal i need to gain the required capital to do so and my plan for doing this was to wholesale properties in my area (Delaware) and the greater Philadelphia area as well as using my carpentry background from High school to flip properties.

So not your sister, but maybe your cousin who you've always gotten along with or your brother's friend from college who just got his first job out of school.

A little background on the area: it is in a smaller East Texas town that has a great school district that attracts a lot of families.