HAA offers a IROP class that can teach you the basics about managing an apartment.

If I were in your shoes, I would reach out to him to pick his brain on how he went about investing.  

People just like to nit-pick over the silliest things.Your lease agreement should say, "Landlord and/or his Agent" so that you can designate others to do things on your behalf.

Just a heads up on this, investing is not a normal training class for brokers.

However, if one could pick it up for say 10 cents on the dollar, could be a gamble willing to take.  

If you understand an asset class such as real estate (or private lending, or venture capital ...) and can get better results for your IRA by investing in what you know, then a self-directed IRA makes sense.

Problem is finding a licensed contractor who won't nit pick and/or bad mouth the previous contractor because you didn't use a licensed guy in the first place.

Some require you to have a license and some don't.You might consider taking the CIPS series....I think 5 one day classes. 

This semester I am taking a real estate investment class and part of my final project is to identify regions within the United States that we think would make smart investments.

Pick a small deal with a less complicated rehab to start.