There's no step by step guide but there are key things : Learn: RE strategies, what interests you, what do people in your area need.Connect: find a mentor, accountability group and be around those doing what you want to do.Help: solve problems- do people need dealflow, property mgmt, construction expertise, etc. 

If I wasnt going to be doing this I would just be saving more money and staying for free with my parents.

I would plan for having to put 20%+ down for most deals. 

Tax free money is huge.I may have 100k of instant equity so I don't care about about tax write offs.

I won't give my full bio here but I am happy to dive into details upon introduction.

That is me reading between the lines, and I would suggest partnering with someone who has the money.

Zillow is saying the house is worth $90k but recently a tree went through the back end of it and I was hoping to get some information on possible ideas or suggestions on what I should do about the situation.

If you like the home, area etc, you could refi and pull out the same amount of money.

There are other ways to use OPM and not be as risky about it.What you should do is leverage this money at 80% LTV and put 20% of your own money into the deals.

What specific details do you look for in a lead (e.g., financial info, property condition)?