My goal is to build a solid understanding of the basic principles in real estate investing such as property valuation, financial analysis, executing a deal, etc.

@Fabian Gonzalez Well hands down the simplest way to generate a list is to call every number in a prefix.

This led me to think about what the best way is to estimate land value apart from the value of any improvements.

Specifically, my mission is to obtain rental properties for cash flow.

While BRRRR is a better strategy and may require working with contractors if you can't or don't want to do the work, the best strategy is to get your first deal done sooner than later.Q2 - Don't do it. 

The intention is to maximize the deposit where asking for first, last, and two months security up front is just too much for most folks, but where they might have no objection to paying one month security (say $900) while spending an extra $75 per month to build that up to $1800 by the time a year passes. $900 doesnt fix all that much if you have a bad apple.

The first link is to the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation.

Paul really knows his stuff, and he makes real estate investing a science, which is to say he puts a repeatable system into place to "automate" his investing.I really enjoyed this one!

First step is to determine your strategy (buy and hold, fix and flip, owner financing) and then the ARV you want for each project.

I don't have references for you yet, but something I can suggest is to set up your keywords for things your interested in, but try not to be too vague.