While you are scouting deals with brokers/realtors, you would be wise to associate with and work closely with an experienced rehab contractor to give you an honest assessment of what it would take/cost to make the repairs and an estimate of what you could expect to see, in terms of financial returns, for your efforts.  

I own a condominium in a small association and the bylaws specify that only owners can serve as trustees.

Contact the condo association

He was more than forthcoming about the property and the associated financials.

I estimated CapEx without the items paid for by the association at around 5%.

Nichole Fisher with Jeff Baker Associates. 

Hello and I am glad that you were glad to associate with us!  

There are a lot of great young neighborhoods.I would recommend starting out by looking for a local REIA (Real Estate Investors Association).

And if it comes across that way, that's simply because I'm ignorant as to what's realistic, and what's not, given a certain time frame.For example, how long might it take on before I get to the point where I'm getting 3k each month, after paying the mortgage(s) and all other associated expenses?

Good ones for public and the bad ones for associates.