I would listen to @Travis Sperr and @Bill S. as they seem to be well cemented in this market and always have good info.  

Go to the building department to get the codes but you'll basically have to dig down around the perimeter of the foundation of the shed and fill with cement, thus preventing the rats from making a home under your slab.

One person cannot efficiently, hunt for properties, research fair value, talk with sellers, arrange conditions of sale, manage/arrange financing, accept mortgage risk, inspect home, decide on paint schemes, shop for supplies, update place, install new plumbing, clean stains from cement, shop for insurance, interview tenants, run back ground checks, watch market for right time to sell for profit, collect rents, handle late night call on leaky pipe, market rental availability, Handle call during holiday weekend about barking dog, run title searches...You have to find the skills you have and farm out what you do not.

I bought the house anyway because the deal was too good.Now, I've discovered a cement pad in the back yard that was covered with leaves and overgrown grass. 

Call me old fashioned, but I love good eye contact and firm handshake to cement a deal.

They break the course up into blocks and provide a review each day, so that by the end of the week much of the information has been cemented into your mind. 

Can't you just apply a 1/4" layer of cement board before you install your tile?

I already decided not to do anything with them but this cements it.

They rinse cement into your drains.

After listening to podcast 35 today and hearing yet another person say they started by buying a multi-unit, I've all but cemented in my brain this is the way I want to re-start my investing career.