You'll probably get some good ideas here, but I'd suggest talking to a real estate attorney soon and maybe run some of these ideas by them.

If you’re talking about the real estate company down south, I strongly advise against investing with them.I have never invested either.

My advise is to look at property online and see if you can talk with an agent first to see what the rules are for that state.

Or are you talking about a third-party REI calculator tool that you like and use?

They never talked to me about it and instead just had the shelter call me repeatedly for permission.

Can you talk to someone who is being foreclosed and handle a discussion like that?

Instead of paying off the old loan and netting the rest, you talk to the first seller who you've been paying for a year and get permission to substitute collateral. 

What the people that I talk to find is that they don't need to be confined to one area.  

I will provide useful information along the way, but getting subscribers is the number one goal, and to that end, most of the talking heads are going to make investing sound FAR more sexy and lucrative than it really is.  

You need to be able to talk with strangers over the phone or in person to build rapport.