There also seems to be a whole bunch of 3/1s and 4/1s with any different combination of bathrooms thrown in available. 

A number of them now combine fire code violations along with building code violations so they can all be found in one location.

I have found a local group on meetup that I plan on attending the next function and I look forward with making connections with those already in my area.

Do I need to go in and use a search function (if that exists) to pull recent probates and write them down myself?

33K in student loans, about 11k on plastic (wedding/honeymoon/school), plus houseMy experience in real estate is limited to spending time with my grandfather growing up.He had several rental houses and would always be working on them.As I grew up and paid more attention to the business side of his work I realized that he was working just to stay busy and not working to create more income.His end goal was always to create more income but he was always distracted by the job of remodeling and updating.He has been my mentor and main father figure for years but now it is time I “upgrade” to someone capable of guiding me in the direction I want to go.I will always love my grandfather but his business sense is not one I need to follow.My goals in real estate are to create a “four hour work week” (gotta love the Tim Ferriss way of life) by a combination of buy and hold and flips.I hope to use this method to create a stable business and then move into apartment complexes.After lurking on this site I have learned about the different rules needed to ensure profit out of each.In my farm area there are many MLS deals that fall into these numbers.Now it is just about raising funds.I would love to find some Sub2 deals.Famous FourFavorite real estate book Never read one.Bigger Pockets Favorite business book Poke the Box by Seth Godin, 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss, and No More Mondays by Dan Miller Hobbies include working on cars and spending time with friends and family.These are very important to me and I do not get enough time with my desk job with either.What is thing that sets apart successful investors from those that fail Getting back up on the horse after failing and not letting friends and family tell you that being an investor is a stupid idea.

Passive income but active on BP is  a great combination!

Rather, it is the underlying assets, liabilities and character & experience of the owners combined with the nature of the business enterprise and environment that define a company. 

He's tried to rehab the 1100 sf 3/1 bungalow over that time but ran out of time/money/motivation or some combination thereof.

I have a house out of town that I am working on and have installed a programmable combination lock for contractors to come and look at the property. 

I wouldn't worry about it too much either way, but if its a flip and it seems to be functioning now, I would not worry about it at all.