My personal experience, I majored in economics with a focus in business analytics but what’s worked for me and I think is a good path is to major in something that will maximize your W2 earning potential and use the money to invest in real estate.

I want to purchase a condo with the loan 100% in my name, with the intention of completely remodeling the unit for potential rental opportunity. 

Potentially more neighbors?  

I have posted before about the desire to own land and potentially have a spot where I could decompress and relax in the offseason.

Although some specifics can vary state to state, in most cases, you can legally back out of a contract.

D) which of these two strategies would have the better resale potential?

Is there any legal way to compensate someone without their real estate license for sending you a real estate deal (wholesale, flip, etc.)?

You can potentially own the property with no out of pocket costs (rent covers expenses and then some) PLUS you get the added benefits of equity, appreciation, and continuous income from the rent/cash flow.  

@Patrick Fraire if I could overlay that with properties for sale that would be awesome, unfortunately its super time consuming to flip back and forth between the Riverside map and a map of properties for sale (and many of the potentially interesting ones are right near the borders).

This not only gives you a range of potential costs but also helps you gauge the reliability and reputation of different contractors.Real Estate Network: Tap into your local real estate investor network.