@Larry AlexanderCost of purchasing a house is independent of the cost to rebuild it.

Usually, ginormous corporations have large marketing groups concerned with image, zillions of lawyers to go thru contract and plenty of shareholder lawyers looking for anything to start a class action suit.And on the other side we have the fiercely independent wholesaler who lives in freedom, abhors rules like transacting RE without a license in expectation of fee isn't legal and likes to tie up properties for nothing and can't even tell the seller who the true buyer is.Your turn.

Absolutely open to suggestions for books and podcasts that will help me gain a mental foothold on how to get started and invest wisely over time.My long term goal is to gain enough financial independence to not have to work a normal 9-5 job anymore.

That vendor is likely an independent contractor.   

Generally you need a larger portfolio to get this kind of scenario going though.Bottom line: Find a good independent insurance agent that specializes in real estate portfolios. 

Once under contract, confirm the leasing requirements with a thorough lease audit.

You should check with several independent agents and see if they have any companies that will do it.

If you search BP for SEC 8 you will find hundreds of thousands of posts.I require 1 times the rent in dependable reliable income if the voucher size equals my bedroom size, and two time the rent if the house has more bedrooms than the voucher budget.  

I have used energy audits for insulation.

Colorado has independent brokers.