I have also came across a few online pre courses offered, which is a couple hundred dollars less than the face to face courses.

One word of caution - highly recommend checking out who is servicing the note currently - if it is owner servicing it the note is typically not as valuable.Some sites that do sell are fciexchange, paperstac, madison management, watermark exchange, loanmls to name a few of you looked at online portals

He has a ton of free content online (videos/podcasts).There are others out there such as Eddie speed out of Texas and Martin Saenz who is local (NOVA).

Any suggestions for where to go for a primer, either online or books? 

Keep shopping. 

The high dollar cost causes many newbies to value shop for their education and end up paying a smaller fee for inferior information.

I looked into @Brandon Hall but it seemed that the options provided online were for investors who were more established.

the best way to do this is to have lawyer write it up. the second best way is to purchase on online (BP sells state specific leases, prepared by attorneys) and you can always make some modifications to it...but the most important part is to run the purchased lease by a local real estate attorney to make sure it and any additions comply with state law

He is a frequent contributor to this forum, and you can check out his company, Sense Financial, online.

3) Between Foxridge and Bushland communities which is a better bet in terms of ease of renting and better cash flow.These deductions are solely based on my research online.