Thank you all so much- these are FANTASTIC ideas.And as far as the FHA- I guess I just have to save up for that, there isn't a way to hack around that, right?

As far as a walk through, tell her to go and walkthrough and take any photos she sees of damage or conditions that should be noted.

As far as financing, I am coming in with 20% down.

As far as getting exposure to investing in real estate, much of the population considers their personal home as an investment.  

I think things you could do right now as far as real estate goes would be -find a meet up in your area-find bp members in your area and pick their brain (maybe offer your services or time to add value to their life or their situation)-Self-educate.

As far as finding deals I don’t worry too much in that regard, I pride myself in finding deals off the market and making everyone feel good about the deal.  

I'm trying to get my first house and first rental property but the market is so high and crazy.

So as far as Fannie type loans go, 4 mortgages. 

No idea what your skill set is, so maybe that fits you perfectly.

The good thing about thisproperty since it is so old, it will be in the middle of the town, ina great location.