Interact with their material, ask for guidance, and establish connections with other investors in the markets you want to pursue.Attend Webinars on Real Estate Investing: Seek for webinars or online gatherings led by seasoned real estate agents in Upstate New York and Ohio.

I want to make sure that my time is spent reading the right material though.

Hey @Rene Bee Not trying to promote anything, I always suggest to people to install a Smart Home System (ADT,Vivint,Simplisafe) instead of DIY.

Then chasing materials and actually doing the work is a time consuming venture. 

I know, materials are double but the materials that double are flooring, paint, drywall, etc.

Oh, you can also look up Ross Chapin, architect, who has a large volume of material on pocket neighborhoods, which are made up of small homes from 500 to 1500 ft.².

Material amounts discovered in due diligence is, in my mind, NOT considered re-trading, nor frowned upon.  

The walk through is not the first awakening, it's a confirmation of expectations and for final adjustments, such as the degree of work performed and quality of workmenship and materials.

Any body you see buying a lot of flooring material introduce your self in ask if they have a business card.

What are the best tool to estimate a flip materials cost?