Essentially as he moved he bought a place and kept it/rented it after he moved to a new area. 

I bought a 3 unit multifamily.

I bought my first deal from a wholesaler for 18k, I put 14k into the renovation (this 14k included a new ac unit and furnace- contract labor is also very affordable in the Midwest), and it is rented for $675 a month.

As it stands my knowledge is pretty basic, just what I've learned browsing the forums and gleaming through materials online, but I'm a quick study and want to really make an effort My specific areas of interest are wholesaling, buy and hold for rent purposes, and flipping once I become knowledgeable enough about the Philadelphia market. 

You can also look for the Landlord Tenant Handbook on-line published by the HCIDLA. 

I have been browsing duplexes and triplexes online, to see what the market looks like now.

I own a home in NC that I rent out although it's not a great deal at the moment (I'm going to post a question on that next in the rental forum) and I just bought a house here in Utah.

I know many people who pull the 30% from a line of credit because they do not have the down payments  and then finance the deal via a mortgage through a corporation to hide the fact that they used a LC but again you are now 100% leveraged...You are young and your risk tolerance may be higher then some but I have bought and sold many dealswhen you are playing the "no money down game" it usually never ends well....

Are you paying him $5000 to be at the auction, or to simply bid on the house online, and then move through closing?

I am an Aerospace engineer working in Carpinteria and I bought my first property in Ventura, California at end of 2016.