I am currently working the free classified sites and it is a constant task to figure out what works there because there are so many people doing it now.

Consistency, systems, outsourcing as many tasks as you can, and using strategies that fit with the amount of time you have available. 

I am looking to learn from other investors as a college student to enhance my knowledge in personal finance and real estate to become more financially literate.

The idea of investing in property is a daunting task to tackle alone; but there are plenty of ways to gain experience/knowledge: - BiggerPockets is a great source- it has thousands of threads, blog posts, and podcasts available to you for free

The two main types of system are portfolio and pod/task based.Portfolio means one person does everything from go to woah on a given number of properties and must be highly efficient in everything to get a good management.

However they informed me that the chimney would need to be completely rebuilt from the roof line and the quotes I received  were more than I could bear for something that doesn't enhance the value of the property. 

The upper tenant has a couple of small kids and I know from personal experience it's an impossible task to have them sitting still when they get home from school.

Now, we had two options on the table: pay PG&E, the electric company, to do the upgrade for us, or hire our trusty contractor to tackle the task.

We have a nearly paid-off home and know many home maintenance tasks and who to hire in the area for the stuff we don't know how to do.We live near and work in a busy state university/college town with a constant flux of people moving in and out of the area.

Of course, you need a good design and good copy and all of the little tricks to enhance your open and response rate (bulky letter, real stamp askew, maybe even a coffee cup stain on the envelope, etc.), but with a bad list, you're dead from the start.Here's a link to a couple of my marketing materials, if it's of any use to you:http://paulpayscash.com/marketing/