The home was in less than stellar condition. 

You just have to be a stellar agent and keep them coming back and referring you.

Seriously, you're just now realizing now un-affordable most college degree's (with the less than stellar future job outlooks) are..? 

I have student loan debt that is making my credit not so stellar, so I'm weighing my options.

i will even allot for variable BS and say 400 a month cash flow/5400 yearly with a ROI of 27%....i think i can get the property for under 20k but lets leave that to my stellar negotiating skills...ori can put down 20k on 100k home, mortgage with a 30 yr fixed.

The CPA had a divorce and less than stellar credit.

Not an exact quote from numerous medical studies but more of a synopsis.BTW; just to brag a bit on myself (and say "bite me" to just about every authority figure in my schools, except my Senior year Guidance Counselor, here is a short history of me since '66.Drafted into military, ended up spending 9 years doing that, a couple of combat decorations, started my BS while in service at the urging of my Colonel who told me my talent would always be wasted in government service, finished my BS in about 30 months of starting, despite several extended TDY assignments.Held 5 jobs within the first 3 years after getting out of the service, and had started one company, later sold.10 years later I had 5 rentals and an MBA5 years later I had 10 rentals and had started a second company5 years later I had quit a job after 17 years that was paying pretty da** well, started a partnership (dissolved within 3 years) and had 16 rentals, all paid for, owned my own house free and clear.BTW, despite my stellar 1.3 GPA in high school I had a 3.7 in college and a 3.8 in graduate school.

Then, as things get closer to "go time" you can always offer to pay half fee, or full fee, etc.I've had less than stellar experiences with yahoo.com's real estate ads, and putting it in the paper--or the paper's online equivalent--has been pretty hit or miss and seems to depend highly on which city you're in.

Partnerships and my stellar local bank :) How did you add value to the deal?

Here is a great blog post on BiggerPockets that might address your question and provide you with some options to get started, even with a less-than-stellar credit score. https://www.biggerpockets.com/...