I agree with the previous guys comments and say go to free webinars and   Make connections as best as you can ( at coffee shops, grocery stores, restaurants and sports cloud bars, meetups, etc).

The cheap way is as @Conner Olsen recommended, go off of a shopping list, and hire on the ground folks to unpack it all.

Very True.

Connect with a quality broker in your area that can shop the various companies for you and find you the best deal without compromising coverage.

One seller was indeed making 90k/year in income however-they will never get a true license. 

The CE Shop is a good overall resource for courses for pre-licensing, but there are a million of them and they all generally do the same thing.

This is true but they're also under market value rent by more than $1200/mo.

Real estate investing has become a true passion of mine because I love the idea of taking a run-down, neglected property and transforming it into a home where people can truly enjoy living.

I believe new construction homes don't cash flow as well, based on what I have read but not sure if true.  

Hello BP Community,I have been a BP lurker for many years and after falling out of love with retail real estate- I am oh so READY to get into investing (my first true love).