That’s a lot of variables, just be cautious with so many moving parts.

Just be very cautious and cover your bases.

I'm new to the game so maybe I'm missing something, or being overly cautious.

I am definitely trying to be cautious and to learn what I'm getting into before I make any moves.

I'd be cautious if you are not a licensed general contractor and having that in the name.

I'm trying to figure where to get started I have started looking at properties with a realitor and  walked several just extremely cautious because I don't wanna be over my head.

The trigger point for the crisis  was not those actions.The trigger point was the default rates of investors and home owners who either bought too much property, or didn't run the investment numbers correctly, or believed that appreciation was guaranteed in the constitution, or got "surprised" by any one of several nasty events that should have made their way into a cautious investors proformas.  

Obviously, it was needed for the purpose of your question, but very cautious.

Be cautious of the pro-forma returns that marketers & sellers are estimating as they very seldom hit those returns.

One other thing I noticed from your post to be cautious of is just because a property is in a strong rental area does not mean you will have positive cash flow.