I found Chad Carson's ep on the BP Real Estate podcast about using real estate to retire early and I'm about 90% through his book as of right now. 

Read the books they recommend!

We used the standard form "Addendum for sale of other property by buyer".

After reading about twenty books, podcasts, and tons of research on real estate I figured out that it's something I am interested in.

I've listened to tons of BP podcasts in the last few weeks, probably 40+ hours while I walk my dog each day :) And I've pored over the Beginner's Guide as well as several books in @Brandon Turner's recommended list - "Long Distance Real Estate Investing" by @David Greene is probably my favorite.

Actively re-starting about 2 1/ years ago in RE investing we began to consume a lot of material on investing (podcasts, books, etc.), the end result being we took our eyes off the ball to the deals that were right in front of us!

There isn't nearly enough information on the calculator to give me a real indication of what is actually included in your numbers...but if you're planning for $35k profit...can you also afford to lose $15k...without experience it's possible to have your holding costs be much higher...and your renovation costs be 50% over if its your first project and you don't have actual contractor bids and are just guessing based on having read J Scott's book.

Ain’t nobody got time for all that.I am by the book with my tenants, and stay professional (Dr/Mr/Mrs/military rank, in every communication - regardless of them using my first name).

For a good description on the difference between investing and speculating (the greater fool theory) read the first few chapters of the book below: A Random Walk down Wall Street: The Time-tested Strategy for Successful Investingby Burton G.

The goal/reward here is to develop a process, much like David Green mentions in his book.