@Leland Smith I kind of second what @Gary Siver said........ sometimes there are contractors that aren't licensed that do better work and are more reliable than licensed, that being said that's not all that i would worry about....If you are doing any structural work, I would recommend you get someone licensed that can pull the permits or pull them yourself if they let you (its just better when you can justify at sale all the work was permitted and for tax purposes, you can have records of money that was paid out) .....

Also have some verbiage to ensure subs are paid after work is completed.

I found BiggerPockets after going to a real estate investment seminar that I paid a couple hundred dollars for. 

I have a mobile home I live in that i paid $8,000 for and renovated.

You only paid for the first 160k. 

I think I've paid $200 total for advertising about 4 years ago when I owned an older house that needed some work and its was a bit difficult getting a tenant in there.  

We paid off some credit card debt and decided to move home.  

Not just on the property to cover damage, but interruption if business use insurance also, so you keep getting rental income paid by the insurance company until your property is back online.

@Heather OlsonThis is where self-managed DIY landlords shine and any property manager except a well-paid and highly-competent team can lose you serious money.

It was all bought with a HELOC on our original house that we’ve since sold and paid off that HELOC with the appreciation during the crazy run up around 2004/5 and moved along.