I just want some guidance on how to quickly start, get my feet wet, and make the bigger choices later on, when I start stacking rentals. 

Financing is a huge aspect of knowing if/when we are able and ready to finally get our toes wet after we have the initial education out of the way.

I have a friend who moved into an old house as a renter in Western North Carolina ~11 months ago along with a roommate who moved in who has been there for 2 monthsBoth of them recently have been reporting symptoms associated with exposure to mold lately such as a deep cough, fatigue, joint stiffness, and dizziness. 

I'm just a young dad looking to get my feet wet in the real estate game looking to surround myself with the right environment.

I'm new to this and trying to get my feet wet.

I'm hoping to purchase a multi-family and live in one unit while renting out the others to get my feet wet as a landlord and to have tenants pay my rent so I can save quicker for future properties!

I'm open to wholesaling just to get my feet wet.

I'm gussing this house ws done in parts over time.Re the spalling, look closely at the foundation and make sure its not crumbling...Spalling sometimes is caused by too wet a mixture (failure to slump test), or not knowing how to spec it properly, resulting in a weak mix.Sometimes it will degrade down to the wire mesh or rebars.One area may be spalling and other areas A-OK.Just my 2 cent.

That way you can get your feet wet without nearly as much risk.   

I had a property with a wet basement that was remedied by simply installing corrugated piping to route water from the downspouts away from the house.