I am a Sales Exec at a laptop and tablet hardware/spare parts company. :) Oh, and Welcome to the forum John!

Typically, in my area, if you aren't willing to 'get creative' you simply won't get inside 70-80% of the 'good deals' before they go off market.Hour one: Listing hits MLSHour two: First person goes in legally and puts the key back in the boxHour 2.5: Second person goes in and DOESN'T put the key back in the boxHour 2.8: Third person breaks the door downHour 3: Fourth person breaks another door down and then uses spare lumber and a cordless drill to seal the house up (Conveniently rounding off the screw heads)Hour 3.2: Fifth person drives off in a huffHour 3.4: Sixth person breaks the screwed-together door down with a 10lb sledge and a flat bar, bolt cutters, portable grinding wheel, or what have you.Hour 4: House is under contractDay 3: Another key gets put in the lockbox, but by now the 5th guy who wanted to play by the rules is already too late since the house has been under contract for 2.5 days.So yeah, it can get frustrating.

I am currently living in the house, with a buddy renting the spare bedroom.

Look up comps when you have spare minutes at work, or at home.I live in an area where I can pretty much make the offer without seeing the house.

Here are some steps I would take:1) Keep learning: I would take the spare time you have right now and spend a lot of it on BiggerPockets, reading, and talking to others about real estate investing.

Moving dirt from the front to the back would also increase the lot height some. 2nd QuestionHow "compact" does the soil in the back need to be if we move dirt or other material back there?

I invest out of state but the beginning of my REI experience started by renting out the spare rooms in my primary residence.

Do you have spare keys?

The Bigger Pocket's The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Real Estate Investing is great and was one of the first things I read on the site.I'm also in the middle of the Nickerson's How I Turned $1,000 into Five Million in Real Estate in My Spare TimeNext on my list is definitely J Scott's The Book on Flipping Houses and The Book on Estimating Rehab CostsThe rest of the books on the list look great too and I'm excited to read them as well.

Unless you are trying to generate some real deal flow major marketing campaigns are costly and time consuming.Having many college buds in your field I can not imagine you wanting to spend your spare hour's answering calls from motivated sellers.