After following BP for a year, I've been trying to figure out how to leverage my marketing skills as an in to REI.

Lots of work and the results vary greatly based on skill.

This means you need other skills to contribute to the deal such as labor, project management, or networking and real estate experience.

For what I do as a local investor, the research skills I developed during all those years of college are incredibly important.

Instead, the dream is to buy low, pay people with less brains and credit and much more skill to fix it for you, and rent your fixed-up lemon out for a premium. 

I will never undervalue it and use that skill forever.I learned how to stay abreast of all expenses and stay involved so that nothing was slipping through the cracks. 

@Rachel MorrowI would think the entry level task would be cold calling-which is a very valuable skill.

Please make sure a tenured contractor has prepared a budget, unless you are in the trades.  

Maybe use the $50k to pay off a car or trade in your car, pay off the credit cards, put yourself in a position where your only debt is your primary residence (if you're a homeowner, bonus points if you're house hacking).

The market there is totally different and you can't just apply what's being done in the US because oftentimes it won't work.The market in Mexico is divided in two parts: the market for the wealthy Mexicans and foreigners in which properties are traded in USD and the "local" market, in which properties are traded in pesos (MXN).The USD is overwhelmingly condos and some villas as well.