It seems like you have a private lender that is ready to give you money which is a huge leg up in this business. 

It sucks to have to go sit in that dentist chair but it is going to hurt worse if i put it off for longer.

Shower must be wheel chair accessible.

I'd get a decent investors agent and do 1 outdated property in a good neighborhood that is in otherwise good shape at first that you dont pay an arm and a leg for. 

Investing in real estate during a recession makes many people feel like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

See what they are selling their wholesale property for, and what they list as the ARV.If you can nail down a price/sq ft for the various areas of your town, you have a leg up on your competition.

The speaker needs a new chair to sit in. 

I will/am doing all the leg work, research, deal finding, viewings, management after closing, finding tenants, etc.

If on a Friday evening the neighbors are sitting on lounge chairs in the front lawn smoking something that is not a cigarette, blasting music, and every so often a car rolls up and some sort of fast transaction/exchange is made, that would be a red flag. 

I'm afraid it would be like an alligator that might take a chunk out of my leg any time.