I just have no idea on the actual costs of building a home, but it seems if you buy a piece of land you should be able to build something for less than what a lot of the already built houses go for here, it being such a largely inflated priced market.

Finding her (actually sought her out) and talking with her cemented in my mind there are legal ways to accomplish wholesaling and some Title Agents like her know the correct ways as well as newest restrictions.  

@Tiffany Onwudinanti I'm actually in Oklahoma City!

It was actually surprisingly easy to find because the smell - once I got in the attic - was pretty strong and I literally just followed my nose until I found it. 

I figure to overcome fear, and actually see that REI'ing isn't as scary or intimidating as it seems, I actually need to buy that first property.

I would also talk to your Title Rep and go over the Preliminary Title Report to make sure that the person who is selling is actually the owner.

I will say that Home Union is just a middle man and if you do buy from them you will be paying 15-20k over what the actual producer of the property is selling it for.

You can actually beat the 2% rule if you don't mind dealing with a lower income area.  

I've been spending the past 6 months or so learning as much as I can about real estate investing and it's time to actually DO something about it.

When you have an actual deal it isn't too hard to find buyers and finalize it.