We are very new to this, but are highly motivated to make a future for us and for our children.  

I was also surprised with the little extra motivation this simple new routine added to my current work (I'm constantly trying to see how my current job can do more for my RE experience than be steady source of income).

Not that big of a deal as she was a lot of help and very motivated. 

especially when  you have a distressed house and more importantly a motivated seller, how do you know what will make it a good deal, if you are going for a good discount because of the specific scenario with a motivated seller. 

Some noble goals, whats your plan to achieve them?

@Jarrod Pettit remember that the people who lend to us also get a learning experience so it is motivating for them to lend to us.

I have shut down all operations mostly due to the lack of motivation on behalf of the contractors.

This type of forced appreciation is much harder to achieve with single family. 

Does anyone have any helpful tips of how I can achieve this goal?

How will you determine what work to do in order to achieve the highest resale value?