As far as getting your feet wet, my best advice I would offer is to start by purchasing a house for yourself to live in. 

I'm also a newbie here in the Fort looking to get my feet wet. 

I'm eager to actually get in the real estate game and get my feet wet as far as my first deal.

The key thing is 220-grit sanding, vacuuming, wet swiffering, and dry swiffering between coats with a good natural natural-bristle brush.

Then when you are ready, invest a small chunk of that $500k into a small Multifamily deal to get your feet wet.

I'm looking forward to getting my feet wet and hopefully benefiting from your experiences. 

We'll give an 80% LTV, so cough up the 20%."

Also, if you're going to be holding this property and renting it, replacing the wiring might be a cost you don't really want to cough up, but from your description sounds like it would result in a much safer property, and far fewer tenant complaints/problems.

This could be a good way to get your feet wet and collect a stream of income while saving up for your next property.

I've had pieces of unfinished get wet in the basement next to OSB & MDF.