He should be good at marketing, a skilled negotiator on your behalf, have his ear to the ground for movement/conditions in the market/neighborhood, utilize and share MLS data to come up with comps/ARV, have contacts with key players (inspectors, contractors, government officials, loan officers, attorneys, property managers, other investors, off-market deals etc.), quickly manage all the cumbersome paperwork/contracts/communication/scheduling, and know how to navigate a lot of the bumps that often prevent deals from closing while keeping all parties on the same page and moving forward.

If I take a job at a firm that does not service real estate or business clients, I'm still gaining very valuable skills that can result in providing better representation to real estate or business clients in the future. 

The real estate world has lots of wonderful people but it also has more than its fair share of unethical people.I like to get to know the people making things happen and identify a person who is really good at the specific skill I want to learn. 

What kind of skills might I need and where would I learn them?

I know that you will say you have great people & project management skills as well as follow-through and will manage to budget, but I do not know that for sure until I SEE it and experience it with you.

I'm still working on my networking skills and would like to network with you as well.

A skilled real estate agent is a great resource as well, as MLS databases to give them access to extremely detailed physical data and sales records.

And buying paper to reposition is a very high skill level endevour so I don't see that as passive at all...

If activity is ok and you have skills to rehab, you are likely going to create more equity the more you do yourself.

I'm not in that area, but, if I had to guess, you're probably looking at $3000-5000.Could obviously be more or less depending on:- Type/quality of contractor- Quality of materials- Access to existing wiring- Whether you are willing to do sheetrock repair and painting afterwards- Cost of permits- Your negotiating skill