I went as far as making my  own molding  with a table saw and router bit because the stuff at Home Depot it was too expensive.

Have you thought about getting a job at someplace that pays decent (such as Olive Garden server)...and save 100% of your money for a couple of years.Then you will have (some money), then when you graduate take the highest paying job you can find.You will need a couple of years stable work history to qualify for a loan (part time Olive Garden might not do it, or it might, maybe lenders can weigh in on this).Investment wise this is not a lot of money, as you may have to pay 20% to 30% to get a rental--you may need a partner.If you can shadow someone, and it makes you comfortable, go for it.Good Luck!

I know it’s a little farther from you but I host a meetup every first Saturday in Palm Beach Gardens, this weeks speaker is David Dweck.

And I'd head to home depot at 6am on Monday morning and go talk to/get numbers of all the contractors you see.

Best advice is to just scroll though Home Depot website and get an idea for the cost of things like flooring and drywall per foot and then do the same thing with cabinets. 

Down here they move to River Rouge, Melvindale, Ecorse, North side of Lincoln Park, Inkster, Dearborn Heights, Wayne, and Garden City.  

Most of our fixtures, appliances and finishes come from Home Depot, and we keep a spreadsheet of HD SKUs.

Also, Never buy flooring from Home Depot or Lowe's they over charge you alot.

I'm already spending my time at home depot but given that I've never done rehabs, it's becoming time consuming.

garden hose even.