First step....find a local Wxperienced short sale agent.....the bank will require it to be listed for a short time and more importantly someone who Knows what they’re doing needs to put it together, including determining what add’l money a buyer may need to kick in to junior debts Before making an offer. 

We stepped in and took over payments, caught them up and gave them some walking money. 

If you can get really humble, step up and do all of the grunt work for your father and brother, you will accelerate your learning rate tremendously. 

Buy at 3k for local support/take home no issues with transit etc..price match and send it documentation to get it down to the 1800.Take it step further...lease new car vs buying one (even old). 

You can buy property here without even stepping foot here.

@James WiseI'm with you on on each step suggested specifically with cutting off communication.

They are not cut out for dealing with tennat issues and must step back from daily operations. 

I prefer getting there 20 minutes early to set the thermostat to a comfortable temp, turn all the lights on, pick up any trash in the yard, sweep the front step, kill the spider on the counter, fix the running toilet, take care of any strange odors, ask the neighbor to stop smoking weed/shut their dogs/kids up/ stop screaming at each other, etc. 

Congratulations on taking positive steps to learn more about real estate.What specific type of real estate investing are you interested in pursuing?

Wasnt really prepared for this...but trying to figure out next steps?