I feel as though that is the hardest part for most RE investors to grasp.

Many investors do not grasp this concept and believe they have a positive cash flow property when in fact once they apply a return to the equity they are left with negative cash flow on the property itself.

Ask a lot of questions and get yourself comfortable with when to make offers, how to make offers, how to calculate cash flow, how to calculate cash on cash returns, how to calculate cap rates, how to estimate ARV, etc.Once you feel like you have a great grasp and action plan on how you will operate your business, it's time to start taking action!

I don't quite have a firm grasp of the 50% rule that I've seen you all mention and not sure how to apply it to homes that are purchased with cash?

I have a good grasp of valuation on most all other commercial asset classes, just not sure what I need to tweak to accommodate hotel type asset.Thank You! 

Find someone at a bank that fully grasps what you are trying to do and who works for an institution that does these types of loans.  

If you are flipping you should be able to inspect current projects and get a firm grasp of the kind of work they do

I have no idea how a subject to works, but I think I grasp a bit of it. 

I am an investment analyst as a day job so I feel I have a pretty good grasp of the numbers, and after running the numbers on the types of home prices I am seeing, it would be difficult to even be cash flow positive with how high home prices, mortgage rates, and demand are right now. 

For experience, I've bought my current primary residence single family home and I used to volunteer at the housing court, so I've got a good grasp of landlord tenant law in my area.