Always feel free to reach out to the group or my self directly with questions regarding the area or trade referrals if ever needed!

HI and congrats on your decision, learn a lot from here join some of the local meetups (now Zoom) get yourself a good group of trades men like plumber, HVAC, electrician that will be the most important, mortgage broker ( don't depend 100% on banks) and like Carlos said a good home inspector, you can find some well train at Internachi.org or ASHI, this are national associations and have a very good requirements to be one.

For something as low skill as that, yes I am sure craigslist will work. 

I have spent the past 12 months reading the forums, particularly on how to sharpen up my skills on crunching the numbers on potential deals, to mitigate the risk of making a poor investment decision.

Oh gosh, that is so area dependent and skill dependent that no one can give you a straight dollar figure.

So don't trade/buy equity...let your tenants (rent to mortgage payments) and the economy (appreciation) gift it to you. 

You could have it framed and let him lay the floor boards-assuming he is skilled and will do it properly.

@Steve Anderson When I first started I attended REI groups, went on Facebook, went to local auctions, messaged individuals on Bigger Pockets, used Propstream, Bandit Signs, Trading Buyers List with people that are in the same area.

Instead offer to share your expertise, perhaps to host a panel discussion or answer some questions related to your trade.

Buyers are pulling out given the uncertainty, sellers are re-trading lower to get to closing, banks and bridge loan operators are pulling out of deals.