Go to where cash buyers work....at the courthouse steps buying at foreclosure auctions.If you see a guy bid on and/or buy more than one property,they are or work for cash buyers with lots of investment cash or lines of credit.Walk up to them after the auction and compliment them on their property purchases and offer to bring them more just like it before they get to the auctions.Ask for their criteria (sizes,locations,ages,numbers of bedrooms,condition,etc).Promise to follow up with them ASAP with a property they might like to inspect and purchase.Go to every courthouse you can get to in a few hours driving and you could easily create a list of 30 to 40 real professional cash buyers who act fact and know what they're doing to be profitable in this business.

Here's my situation:I've been on a journey to make myself debt free and I'm a paycheck away from doing so.

good concept Bryan, flipping vs buy and hold are keys to how wealth can be generated by using two different methods of investing aka envesting as i like to say, i'm a newbie in this industry my plan is to buy and hold rentals and later refinance the property and reap the benefits of the cash flow to purchase rehab and flip discounted properties that i find along the way, my strategy may be different than most but most of my educational coaching suggested looking at every deal as if it were flip and or rehab, i agree with Bryan, if i can get the cash flow and equity that buy and hold offers then that is the strategy that works best for me, but if i run across a flip/rehab that is worth my while then i execute accordingly but leverage is a important aspect of the buy and hold strategy will be implementing in my world.......good luck on your investing journey

Most owners or owners acting as PMs keep it professional with no emotional ties to tenants and keep it running as a business.

Any advice is appreciated, but I'm really excited about this new journey.

I would now like to seek some professional guidance from an architect, residential construction contractor, etc. to first gauge whether or not my vision is possible, potential road-blocks, and alternative development ideas.

I meet frequently with people interested in starting their investment journey.  

Real world I'd probably get $45k-$50k for it in today's market.It might sound like a stretch but my goal is to build my portfolio up enough to where I can get on BP's podcast and tell this story as part of my journey.  

Keep the relationship a professional one from the start.

There are some really nice old houses that once fixed up, both students and professionals love to rent because of their close proximity to the city and campuses.