It is hard work and in the beginning few years very stressful.

For some reason I just feel more drawn to the idea of a steady monthly income rather than the stress of flipping a house within "X" amount of time, especially while working full time.

Try to build a relationship with your seller...belly button to belly button.

Went through The FHA loan conditions (stressful), and finally was able to close.  

I'd still be in the business of investing, but it's hard to find good work these days, and didn't need the extra stress.   

I have no clue what grade that was, but I remember typing 2^2 = 4 in my calculator, and then tapping the “=” button over and over to watch the numbers climb higher and higher.

I cannot stress the importance of finding a very good Investor Friendly CPA.

You can use the search button above and you will get tons of direct mail resources.Or since your budget is limited, you can go to a community which is older (houses built in 1980s or earlier) and just do driving for dollars.

I just ot to quit hitting button again.  

These are rough areas and the extra "cash flow" you'll make (I'm using that term ironically) will likely not compensate you for the stress.