He also spoke about getting a partner to put up the money for that, you doing the legwork, and then splitting the profits 50/50.I also heard about calling the craigslist landlords and asking them about wanting to sell.

Not sure if these numbers are exactly how they work, but the chance of getting a call back is much higher after repeated exposure.If you are interested in making cold calls, a free way to do this is to call landlords renting out their units on craigslist and asking them about selling.

Do you landlords allow tenant to make repairs/updates to the property themselves on their dime?

It might make it worth you paying to get out of your lease, or just negotiating with your current landlord to get out early.   

But I think we're going to go through with the purchase and begin our journey in not only homeownership but also landlording.

I plan on taking the landlord class through Homeline, and I believe there is a required class to take in st cloud through the police department. 

Now on to the next challenge of actually finding a deal and brushing up on landlording!

  - Has not made any efforts to put it on the market or rent it per my suggestions (may be nervous about being a landlord)Since he is not making any effort to sell I think it could be a good strategy to partner with him to rent and manage the whole process so we both benefit.   

Check out the Tidewater Real Estate Investors Group and the Hampton Roads Landlord Assoc.

. ;)So here's my question; if we rent it out, we have a 24 foot above ground pool and Jacuzzi in the backyard.