I am in the beginning stages of Wholesaling and beginning to get a few deals under my belt through JV deals.

At least have one or two positive encounters under your belt first if you can. 

Later on when you get more experience under your belt, you can take on bigger projects with more extensive updates to the infrastructure of the home, but in the meantime cosmetic fixers are a great way to start, get some hands on experience (even if you contract out some or all of it but stay involved throughout the process), and earn a bit of sweat equity.

One tenant has two suites upstairs in our small building and their business designing conveyor belt systems is slow right now.  

I'll elaborate a littleExamples:  Natural gas hot airNatural gas hot waterOil hot waterOil hot airElectric baseboardElectric heat pumpPropane hot airPropane hot waterAs an overall, the first is what provides the actual heat, the second part is how it gets delivered around the house.Natural Gas Hot Air:  Generally there is a furnace that heats the air and has a blower, and then air ducts that deliver the hot air around the house.Natural Gas Hot Water:  Now it is a boiler that uses natural gas to heat the water (separate from the domestic hot water for your shower) and then circulating pumps that move the hot water through baseboard pipe units with "fins" for distributing the heat.Oil just uses that fuel (instead of natural gas) to either heat the air or the hot water. 

Houses will always be for sale,, hunker down,, and make some belt tightening decisions. 

why don't you partner up on a flip if you came across a great deal show him the way It would be much easier if you had a few flips under your belt

I am strictly trying to get the house under contract for a certain price and then sell the contract to get some money/experience under my belt. 

I too am in Houston and wanting to get back into real estate. 08' left a bad taste in my mouth with multiple SFH foreclosures on my belt.

It's like a white belt in karate trying to put moves on a 6th degree black belt.