P:As a mentor/trainer once said to me, when you are broke "go buy a house."

I would not personally consider buying on a street that they are working on as a superior investment.. maybe a neutral or cash flow buy and hold.. but just on the face, because they are there does not imply improved values.. for a few reasons. heavily subsidized the folks living in those homes could not buy at fair market value and those that can afford to buy at fair market value generally will not choose those areas or streets.. they look very nice in the beginning but they wear down and soon progress to the mean.

Of course there are advanced education courses you can buy and apply but for all those offers you are given the basics and the awareness that they exist so you can choose the path for your personal education and for all of them the benefits far out way the cost, I consider them cheap.New Peaks and the trainers are all experts in their profession and they all eat their own cooking as they say and speak from experience, but the biggest benefit by far has been the members, Peaks People are Awesome and getting more Awesome every day and that includes me connecting with these people on this path is the best thing I have ever done for my business and my life, I could go on for hours on this I will keep it brief.

I want to start understanding what this implies in terms of US taxes I have to pay. 

And as long as you perform great due diligence, you should be able to avoid parks that cannot deliver good returns.But I hate the term "cash cow" because it implies that the business is easy and any idiot can do fine as long as they own the "cow".

I did, and I worked as a staff trainer, instructor, competitor, and performer until a torn ligament in my ankle sidelined me.  

Then my mom takes off with her walker to the gym for an hour session with her personal trainer.

Taking bids implies you want the cheapest price, and a good contractor isn't usually cheap.If you were referred by someone, be sure to mention that.

I believe the author experienced harsh consequences of the 2008 crash as he was investing in Detroit but it does not imply that the information in the book is not helpful.  

If you can't make it work where you are, you can't make it work somewhere else, either.Hire a good, on-site trainer who will teach you how to get set-up in this business and actually work with you to set up yours.