If you don't own the house yet, you really need to pay the guy otherwise it's a waste of his time.Sometimes roofers and pools companies will give an estimate based on google maps. 

They have high loan amounts and a very long draw period and long pay back period.

They furnish it, pay the utilities and rent it out to people staying for a short time. 

Pay attention.STEP 1:Lists, foreclosures, absentee owners, probates bla bla bla, you need to send thousands of mailers calls or texts to get one deal yes?

I'm fairly new to real estate investing but really want to hit the ground running.

transacting - buying and selling - is expensive and can consume years of gains, with all of the commissions and fees you have to pay. 

Many lenders offer competitive introductory rates, so if the goal is to pay off ASAP you will benefit from this. 

Now you need to figure out how to find deals and pay for them.

The issue I run into, based on what I can put down, is that I would most likely have to split the mortgage down the middle (I pay half/Tenant pays half) based on current rental rates and current mortgage rates (considering what I can put down).

I pay an accountant well to make sure I have as little profit as possible :)For a small operation Google Sheets could work.