Being new to the area, I am not sure which are the wisest areas to pursue, so I welcome thoughts on the best areas to invest, or more broadly frameworks about how to think about a good deal.I am also interested in advice on the basics of setting up an ideal REI business practice.

Also if you have a lease agreement set up you can use 75% of that income immediately towards your income.

@Jeffrey Evilsizor if the policy covering the property is in your personal name, and you set up an LLC where you are 100% owner, I have a hard time believing the insurance company will come after you.  

That takes time and effort and expenses for due diligence that should be set off by the sale price and I doubt he will look at it that way.You'll get a better deal by making an offer on the whole mess, not cherry picking.Are these to flip or hold, determine that on each property. 

If you really get desperate you can cold call agents and shop them to their investor clients. 

Take the second step, and set up keyword alerts for your local area of interest, topics you might be interested in learning more about, etc.  

Here are some good places to start: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meet- find and connect with other BP members that are in your area.http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts - Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you.And, of course thehttp://www.biggerpockets.com/forums - ask any question about real estate!

   There is a property near where i live that I think can get owner to sale to me to be rehabbed and there is someone who wants to buy it after it rehabbed. so how do I go about setting things up?

I am now waiting for this person to set a date to sign the lease and secure a deposit and they are not responding.  

Do I have to have a set end to the construction date?