I say skip the MBA, focus on your real estate education, and spend that tuition money on your first cash flowing project instead.

My six year goal is to replace my salary with passive income so I can have more flexibility and time to spend with my girls. 

I am also in the final prelaunch stages of a new cleaning product line for the home that is green, safe and eco-friendly.With all of that said, this is how I currently generate cash flow, but would like to grow into REI so that I can (one day) focus on developing more products and platforms to aid others in their lives and spend time with family.

You're going to have to spend money somewhere to get leads. 

Population growth has remained relatively stable.Population: 20,777Median Household Income: $47kPoverty Rate: 14.6%Employment Rate: 62%I did reach out to a realtor to see if they had any insight.

I echo everyone here on getting better at screening but we all improve with time and experience, especially when it involves spending money to repair things after tenants leave. 

Of course you'll spend some money doing it. 

The only way to spend it all would be to give it to the seller in discount points.

Lots of cold calling, ad spend, etc. 

(I remember posting a while back about basements and the potential for them to become storage for garbage the tenant doesn't want to spend time or money disposing.)Go ahead and alter your lease for future use.