My biggest piece of advice is to first learn how to run the numbers.

I sent out several thousand pieces of mail one month when I was working my wholesaling business "part time" and didn't have enough time to actually follow up with any of the leads.

Gotta know what breaks the bank and what keeps the bank in one piece! 

I like scoping out the sale items at Home Depot/Lowes, the slightly banged up pieces.

@Chad Kamerad gave a key piece of advice.

Seems like you have pieces of your plan (timeline, type of housing, location).

The problem is there is a 15x85 piece of "vacant land" according to the county deeded to the neighbors but the garage is sitting on the land.

You do the footwork, they can get a high teen return, and then you get a piece of the pie. 

"Capping" is leaving the lead painted baseboard in place (as long as the paint is intact and not loose or flaking) and putting a quarter round (or fancier) trim piece on top of the baseboard.  

Decide now where you are going...is this just a quick adventure for you to learn a few things about real estate in general...or is this going to be what you will find yourself doing to provide for yourself and your family for the foreseeable future once you get all the pieces put together.