I also highly recommend taking a class in property management- I tool the CAA class at SFAA a few years ago and it has been very valuable training. 

Stay away from mentioning any protected classes in the letter.

Depends on neighborhood class, condition, etc.

I have researched only online, I'm trying to avoid taking classes right now, I'm just wanting to get started as soon and as cheep as possible.

If your hoping to make a deal out of a 400k house your going to need to find a distressed seller who needs to get out fast and will take a hit on it, but again houses sell in hours now so that's going to be hard.why not look at some of the bedroom communities around these areas, outside the main city limits where working class people are likely to live, you may have better luck. 

A class neighborhoods are probably not it.

My 2centsWas not sure you own your own home but that would be the first place to get that "turkey in the oven cooking" - Time, taxes and leverage will work to your advantage.

Contact your local rental owners association and see what they offer class wise. 

Reasonable cash flow in C class areas in Dallas.

Third:  contact your local rental owners association and sign up for any and all classes they offer.