I've bought numerous properties with none of my own money - but you have to work to find these deals and make a lot of offers, and hear a lot of no's.

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?

Builder's save people like me a lot of time and they earn their fees. 

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

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

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

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!

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

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.