There may be some special restrictions on rental units.From that perspective, they're not necessarily bad.

I started wholesaling in the st louis market from CA and I had a  learning curve about the good and bad areas.

Very comfortable at the moment so I don't NEED to rush into a bad deal.

Usually, you only hear that bad stories about contractors ripping people off on the news.....not the ones who show up, work hard, and do a nice job.  

I do not have direct access to the mls yet and have been relying primarily on sites such Zillow, trulia, BeenVerified, etc. any advice on telling the difference between a good comp and bad comp without using the mls?

Does anyone have name(s) of good quality inspector(s) that I could contact once I get a property under contract?

Hint: the word "revolutionizing" should signal this strongly-Alignment is terrible-Quality is deterioratingIn any event the post above is pretty spot-on from what I can tell.  

I had just left a bad marriage with 3 young children.  

If you don't know anything about real estate than getting your licence isn't a bad idea but one has nothing to do with the other. 

Same as learning plumbing for your properties, a bad plumber (or DIY) can cost you more than an expensive plumber.