It would be a good material to start here https://www.biggerpockets.com/courses/a-beginners-introduction-to-real-estate-investing

We put about $26k in materials into it.

It took me 6 months, but I finally found a property that met all of my criteria.  

Then, you remove all of the damaged materials, and depending on what happened underneath, if nothing, then you're done.

Do you buy materials separately yourself or pay contractor for both labor and materials?

We have the local stores actually doing our shopping for us, discounting the items and then making arrangements with our maintenance team to come and pick up the material. 

There's lots of great material on it and it sounds like what you are looking for.

Be sure to check out the podcasts and other materials in the Education section.

I have purchased both and would say they are amazing materials.  

Hello Everyone, I've been a member of BiggerPockets for the past 2 years and during this time, I've been actively educating myself with the posts, podcasts, books and all material I can get my hands on.