You seem to have a pretty good grasp of what you're looking for to start, which is already a lot further than most "investors" ever even get.  

I wanted to get a better grasp of knowledge (There is so much of it!)

In all honesty the second option is probably the best since they will have a better grasp of their local market. 

Yellow Letters are next on my list but I'm still trying to get a grasp on this method as of where to target and how that effects my response rate, hand written letters or using a yellow letter provider, and who someone would recommend, etc.

Agree 100% with all the CAPEX remarks, I just think I will have a better grasp on these after the inspection is done . 

Ideally if you could 100% finance all properties you would be at maximum return on each with the property being the only income generating factor.For many investors the hardest concept to grasp (many never do) is that investment properties have two income generating streams.

I think it would be a great place to start for anyone that can't fully grasp the concept!

It sounds to me like she's clueless, I don't want to sound mean, but if her reason for not paying is because she thinks you'll evict her then clearly she doesn't have a full grasp on how real estate works once a landlord changes.

I think it's going to take some time and experience for me to grasp what this entails and exactly how I can do this based off of the resources I have available.

There is more to South Philadelphia then just Point Breeze and each neighborhood has it good and bads to it depending on what you are trying to accomplish.Would highly suggest attending some RCO or CDC neighborhood events as well as there zoning meetings to get a grasp of where the development is going and does it fit your wheel house.