A lot of the books and conferences are mostly "what is a note and why invest in notes" level info.I hate to say it but the best ways to get started are:- Get coaching / mentoring from someone- Do a JV and reverse engineer what the person is doing- Buy performing notes and start learning with something easy- Buy a cheaper NPN and learn by doingIf you have a specific question myself and several others here can probably answer it.

Example: a gfci outlet tripped--simple reset can be performed by the tenant themselves.

... long story short, in my area of employment, wherein background searches are frequently performed, social media content is searched on persons of interest.

The 50% rule is valid, and used by experienced investors for deal analysis because it works, and is surprisingly accurate across a wide spectrum of properties: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...It's common for listing agents to paint a rosy picture of a property's performance. 

PLUS it will really boost my kid's FICO.

Always do a background/credit check, call their last two landlords, collect a security deposit, have a formal lease, call their employer to verify income and to get an idea of how they perform at work and be extremely clear in your standards.

Use the cashflow from your newly performing asset to build those reserves, and when you refinance to recoup your initial investment, you'll be in a better place than you were. 

I’d be happy to hear stories of recent deals performed using either of these or other financing methods.

Not included pools of notes which totaled I think 5.Performing - 132 available where 19 are 2nd's / 21 pending sales (19 are 1st's) Non-Performing - 51 available where 12 are 2nd's / 5 pending sales (2 are 1st's)There appears to be some good notes available so are buyers in a waiting pattern?

You have to be ok with different liquidation outcomes.For example, if you buy a non performer with the intent to foreclose and get the property back, what happens when the borrower files BK 13 on the day of the sale, and prevents you from foreclosing for at least 5 years while paying on their BK plan?