If structural issues are not taken care of properly, it can prohibit you from reselling the property.

What are the proper steps I need to take and who do I need to contact?

Living at the property will allow you to learn the most, your acquisition costs will be more attractive, and by properly maintaining the home you'll in a small way be improving your community. 

As for tenants potentially taking advantage of the rental laws and you wanting to make sure you "get your rent"....I would advise you to strongly consider putting tenants in the property that have a Section 8 Voucher IF you vet them properly.

Just know them going in so that you can properly budget.

I am looking at beginning my Real Estate investing journey in approximately 3 months (can’t start now due to a military PCS coming up) and I want to make sure I have all the proper groundwork laid so I can hit the ground running.

You can then move out and turn the whole property into a proper rental.

It starts with educating yourself on the market and the space and developing the proper skillset.

Especially since not one dime goes to overhead.. the founding core which can all be found on BP  each put in their own donations to fund the start up get the proper structure with the IRS etc..

They're extremely beneficial when used properly.