My name is Clementina Reynolds and I am an electrical engineer in Tucson, Arizona.

Try to get and find these lists for your county(but only focus on 1 or 2 for now): Vacant, Tax Delinquents, Code Violations, Water & Electric Shut Off (utility department), Vacant Land near downtown.

The little things are the things that you will learn first and quickly - paint, flooring, windows, etc, the big things like roofs, AC/furnace, plumbing, electrical will come with time and experience.

Do Not give the entire job to a single general contractor instead hire a carpenter for carpentry work, an electrician for the electrical and so forth.

Similar to other people who are in a trade focused on RE (plumbing, electric, development).John Corey

When the client went to have the electric turned on, they told her since it had been vacant for more then a year, it would have to be inspected by our county inspector.

i.e. farming, purifying water, making electricity, clothing ect...

At the same time, I was always able to buy a house with no money down even during this automobile block.

New electric, plumbing, HVAC? 

Seems like a LOT of crap to track... windows, hot water heaters, electrical panel work, bathroom remodel, kitchen remodel, etc.