It's no wonder that you are naturally aligning yourself on the commercial side of REI.

I have been involved in my dad's RE investment ventures for the past decade, they were mostly passive (investments) in nature.

I have found a home on resale for 20,000 it naturally needs rehab but I believe It is a great opportunity for my first property.

Although if you work for a commercial brokerage it is harder to build a book of business, agents are sharper and more aggressive, and it can become pretty hairy if something out of your control delays a contract or something of that nature, and on top of that you probably wouldn't be able to take advantage of the rise of the housing market [Lots of $$$$$$$$].

We treat flips as supplemental or "bonus" income.

I do not trust markets so I am naturally inclined to buying real estate.Further, suppose I live overseas but have a friend-realtor who can find a property for me and, hopefully manage it for me.

*shrug* You can certainly make a spam email account and get added to a mailing list or two, and supplement your redfin lurking with seeing if anything arriving at that email address is a good fit.Often there are extra hoops you will encounter.

Naturally contractors want to make money and may suggest certain materials that have higher margins but it's up to you to decide if its worth it. 

But once you can take those calculations and put them into a spreadsheet (I use google sheets) and get reps looking at homes on Zillow, realtor.com, redfin, etcetera it will become second nature! 

Heating costs go up in winter, as does electric due to the reduced natural light and people being indoors more.