I have been working on my first investment, my finance and real estate education, for about 3 months now.

Get educated and learn everything you can so you can take advantage of the opportunities you have when you are able to move off base.

Let me count the ways:1) Licensing and Entity Set Up2) Establishing Proper Bank Accounts3) Creating a Phone System 4) Having no PM education or experience5) Accounting6) Marketing - Of themselves and the homes they manage7) Application handling with screening8) Lease execution - minimal understanding of how to fill in a lease9) Tenant laws and regulations10) Tenant relations11) Maintenance (I should say that 5 times)12) Make Ready issues13) Security Deposit Itemizations (the most expensive failure you can quantify)14) Failing to seek advice or education 15) Service Animals16) Fair HousingI could go on, but one of the biggest and would considered the "umbrella".....is not providing a quality service to their owners and tenants. 

This website has all the education you need to get started.

I am very interested in flipping houses and I am currently educating myself on the process.

In addition we are also looking for a mentor in the buy and hold/fix and flip realm to gain real world education about our current strategy.

or other governmental entities (including health agencies) have educational materials that may shed some light on the problem?

Welcome to BP, @Chance BostickYou may start from the Education section; listen to the podcasts and webiners..Life is a school of learning, and we all learn one thing or the other each day...Feel free to ask any question and stay close to the forums: you will learn a ton!

If you want accurate values, you need to get comps and property assess a property.As far as future values go, you take take your best educated guess based on a variety of statistics (like job growth, population growth, increase in median wages, etc) but nobody has an accurate crystal ball.

I understand that on BP there is a culture that paid workshops are unnecessary and scams, however I have found them very educational and useful.