Creative deals are negotiated by educated investors.You can make more money from knowledge vs having ones own cash. 

Good PM's can be hard to find but the right one is always worth the money because you avoid headaches and your property will usually perform better than when it's self managed by someone without experience.Hope this helps!

Between the 20k and the money I know I will put in to renovate the house it feels a bit overwhelming.

Cons: take a big tax hit up front, so I start with less money invested.

At this point I am just saving money until it financially makes sense to move on a lot, and then will slowly save up to build a simple 2 BR 1 Ba for short term or long term rental.

Would be great to find a way to use her RRSP money without penalty.... or does that only work if you have a mortgage in your name?

What's the best way to get involve in it to get some experience without burning much money? 

I would love your experiences because my alternative is to spend a ton of money on airdna data! 

It's very odd to have 3 different times where they refused to allow you to fix the issues and simply moved on (after spending money on inspections).

ClairInvesting in a duplex in Lubbock has many ups, like being able to live in one part and rent the other, growing your money, getting more cash, tax perks, and facing fewer times without renters.