I do plan to potentially venture into new property development deal down the road, but for now I'm focused on purchasing existing properties.

PM me about a monthly meetup that exists.

Option 1:  Spend $50,000 on a conversion from a huge basement garage to a mother-in-law unit that would increase your rent by $500 per month on an existing rental.Option 2:  Spend $50,000 on a down payment on your next deal that should cashflow $200 per month after expenses, in addition to the loan paydown, appreciation, and tax benefits.

This allows you to make your sellers feel as though they are in an exclusive group of home owners that have the best homes on the block. often times you can lead with a very simple and honest, "I would like to add your home to the package of carefully selected properties to be sold to cash buyers, there's nothing you would need to commit to even if someone made an offer to buy it."

My girlfriend (hopefully fiance soon) and and I are expecting our first (boy, thank god) in a few weeks, and I wanted to get started sooner rather than later and commit to my first investment.

You are on the right track with evictions and enforcement of the existing leases but it will take time.Do you plan to raise rents above $400?

Using the calculator on an existing property is a little tricky but the numbers I ran show after paying your expenses and setting aside some funds for vacancy, repairs & maintenance, and capital expenses you're still cash flowing slightly under $100/month (even higher if you don't subtract those reserves).

This confirms that it would be acceptable as long as the 50% test is satisfied on the following dates: (i) the “initial valuation date” or the first date on which the corporation makes an investment that is not a short-term investment of funds pending long-term commitment; and (ii) at least one day during each annual valuation period.

Getting a special and start off with low down payment is not as good as you think but if the  the location is important as a consideration, the demand for what you buy property and tenant screening, it's in  growth area, is it located within a diverse area, the parking that is available, do you have deep enough pocket if funds are needed, Do nearby amenities exist, is there any nearby retail stores and what are they and does it fit your ideal tenant, and are there any existing tenants. 

Of course you can also ask a friend or relative for the cash or take money out of an existing asset you have.