When I sell a property to someone with tough credit I give them the same information to clean up their credit.

Second jobRecycle metals Ask friends if you can "clean up junk they don't want" for a fee & recycle / sell what you canFind stuff for free and sell on eBay, I found a local co that gave me scrap graphite and I sold it to glass blowers...

I've been here for 2 years working on the mine waste cleanup projects but I'm wanting to become a real estate investor.

On top of that they only charge $87 per month to clean up credit and they offer a lot more services with that price.  

Pro forma cap rates and cash flow are easy to do on paper, but when you face the realities of renting in these areas, you're going to lose out when it comes to your tenant experiences and property management that is ultimately forced to clean up the mess.

A month later, with just cleanup and a little paint...we sold the house for $145k cash.

Various items will be taken care of outside to clean up the appearance of use of it's yard. 

(Completely serious) I have a lot of time off, so I recently started a side business doing clean-up work (mostly hauling trash) and plan to use the income from it to fund my real estate investing.

Could be painting or cleanup help.  

Maybe wholesale a few properties to build up a war chest (and give you time to clean up your credit).