Growing up, I helped my parents with their house flipping and rentals, so I've witnessed what REI can do, I just hate that it took so long for the light bulb to go off.Current State:I am looking forward to gaining as much understanding as books can give me, but mostly eager to acquire our first property and learn while doing.

And I agree with the benefit of analyzing properties on a regular basis.  

The caveat is watch what you spend compared to what you expect to gain.

It seems you working on a property occupied by a tenant... and performing repairs and/or alterations on the property... for the benefit of the tenants, correct?

If the tenant will not grant access, your state certainly has laws on the books that provide the seller with the ability to post a notice in the door and come with law enforcement ad a locksmith to gain access.

There a great many benefits when investing near the university- its the largest employer in Cincinnati, student population growing 6%/yr, I've had 0 vacancy, it's just 2 mi from over the rhine(think silver lake) and downtown, it presents cash flowing deals while well in the path of appreciation, and every major hospital in the city is within 1mi.

If this is your primary residence and you live in it for 2 years you avoid yet another charge: capital gains tax (probably 15% in your situation - another 15k).

I am a "visual learner" so anything helps and I am sure it will benefit other viewers!

If not, I'll still probably gain valuable knowledge for my investing purposes. 

If you aspire to have rental properties you might like the financial benefits of keeping your existing house as a rental when you buy your next primary residence, if that's an option for you.Primary residence home mortgages have a lower interest rate than investment mortgages traditionally, so by buying your next primary residence and hanging on to your old one, you get to keep your lower interest rate on both properties.