They’ll be your eyes and ears on the ground.Research is also critical.

With the limited resources you have, you want the first investment to not only be a learning experience but to succeed.

If you want to develop it, I can refer you a lender that will lend on a completed subject to appraisal but you'll be limited if you just want it for the lot.If you simply want the land as part of your property, you have more options including a HELOC which you can still use for development down the road. 

Most suburban cities have VERY limited lots and most of those are zoned R-1, meaning only a single-unit house can be built.In the City of Detroit, it's cheaper to buy one and rehab than build!

it does allow you to repair things outside of the home to a limit. 

.- If you hold a rental until death, you can pass it on with a stepped-up cost basis, limiting captial gains if then sold (limited by inheritance tax limitations).Too many newbies on this site trying to replace their day job income via "passive" real estate investing w/o digging deep enough to understand how it really works.

The Section 8 move in phase of your rentals is critical. 

Full gut renovation, including but not limited to full replumb, full rewire, complete mechanical upgrades, and new apartment finishes from studs.

This does not align with buying most buildings in cash.Once you progress in your investing efforts you may come across more UHNW individuals, family offices and institutions who would take the lower return for limiting risk (all cash deal).

It's pretty common practice to have something like that in a property management agreement, and if it falls under that limit they're going to pay it and not notify the owner except in regular monthly updates because it is below the threshold of what is an ordinary expense in the course of business.