I would say you need to make sure you have a good solid foundation.Money in the bank for living expenses, emergency fund at least 6-12 months, if not more.

You can learn all this on your own, but it's very, very expensive.

Good help is scarce around here, and the ones that do well tend to be busy and expensive.

Before you submit an offer I would also make sure you know all the additional expenses that you may me overlooking, is it separate metered for water gas and electricity.

Were you covering all your expenses by renting the property at $850?

I do BRRR as well and always do tile in bathroom.. looks sharp and not expensive.   

I am not at that stage yet to spend $1000 + travel expenses for a seminar/workshop. 

It brings in roughly 2k for me after all expenses.

You don't want the liability as a rental and your expenses are going to be a lot higher for insurance and maintenance, and I will promise you that your tenants will never take care of it the way you will.   

Income - student debt - mortgage payment - monthly expenses = monthly savings If you're going to go down this route, I highly recommend that you house-hack your first deal.