If you are deployed, they will likely see a 0% return on that investment until you are back Stateside and actually start selling real estate and earning the broker commissions.  

My goal is to earn enough doing this to be able to quit some of my survival jobs by the end of the year.When I did a basic search online on real estate investing, BiggerPockets came up.

When I started my first fundings of turn key operators back in 2001 ish.. you had many of them concentrating on the HIGHEST return on paper deals.. and most of them that survivied and have thrived have done exactly what you did or do.. they move up in asset class and let those who are chasing paper yields play in those areas.Its a crap shoot that's for sure and many locals can pull off the lower end stuff but they work it day in day out its what they do and they EARN their dollars. 

He then proposed I should just get licensed and earn the commission.

@Michiel Hart  Very very simple just as james said buy the property already.. especially in those low value markets  I am assuming your talking about sub 50k properties with many wholesale deals in the 5 to 25k range.. if thats the case.. save the money up so you can buy them.Or find a transactional funder who will fund your deals into your name so you can legally sell themor find a money partner create an LLC have said LLC buy the property then resell.and of course to state the very obvious get a RE license and be realtor and earn commissions like every other realtor does.

I'm glad that it peaked your interest and got you where you are, but I would be very careful with them going forward. 

I am looking to start buying homes near my apartment complex to expand my portfolio.. here is where I need your help.. my 16 year old son is starting to look at college courses.. we had a talk today about earned income and passive income.. i was explaining to him that even though my cleaning company was successful ( 13 girls cleaning over 100 houses a week) that I had a limit to how much i could earn based on how many hours me and my girls could work.. but with passive income it could be so much more.. he is so smart.. and me and my husband both own our own company's.. but I would much rather he get started now with real estate investing than spend 4 years and $100,000 on school loans to not use his degree in his field ( which I see a lot of my friends kids doing.. they go to school and spend 4 years and $100,000 and end up doing something unrelated to their major)..

Buying a house to live in is not an investment, it is a liability you have to work for, pay taxes on what you earn, then feed with what's left just so you can keep on living there. 

Older folks love interest earned, they probably know what CDs are paying, so if they sell for cash, where do they need to put that after tax money ?

It's been great traveling the world, putting hard earned tax dollars to work, but It's time for me to go home and build a business of my own.