Quote from @Joshua Wei: Can anyone recommend a company in or around Birmingham, Alabama that performs cost segregation studies for single-family homes?

This is also tax deductible.

This increases the perceived risk and perhaps the legal fees to put in place and then defend if necessary. 

This can reduce your financial burden and spread risk.3.

With this info I can provide you with more information as there are some good programs out there but if you are interested in 2nds for example the really good programs for seller financing may not be as ideal as one catered towards seconds as an example.

I'm just getting started out in this area and would appreciate any suggestions or advice.

It's the most obvious read out there when you see it.

This might be a rookie mindset is it bad I don't care for cash-flow at the moment in my eyes if someone helping me pay down my mortgage and build equity I'm okay with that.

Recommend you Google "Cleveland lead paint instpection" and read what it says on city website.

I read Chad Carson's Small and Mighty Real Estate Investing and I think my path is most aligned with what he calls the "live and fix" method.