I am a novice when it comes to real estate investing so I am hoping to gain a vast amount of knowledge from everyone.

You want to focus in on what they have going for them that will make them good tenants.Lastly, to cover your risk, collect a sufficient security deposit at the start of tenancy and don't use it for anything until after the tenant moves out.

The reason the vast majority of individuals are on section 8 is because they have mental or similar problems. 

There is way too much there to answer in a sufficient manner to walk you through every scenario of how to work these leads. 

The vast majority aren't selling this instant, but if you stay in contact with them via mail/phone/email, you'll be at the top of their mind when it comes time to sell.

As I get more experience, maybe multi-tasking projects will work for me, but I have to start small and build up to that.I look forward to making connections and making use of the vast knowledge base of BiggerPockets and its community.

I'm hoping that 20-30k will be sufficient to get the ball rolling.

The seller pays commission for both sides in the vast majority of cases.

The people here have a vast amount of knowledge and are more than willing to share their experience and provide sound insight and advice.

And, does Mom have sufficient capacity to know what she's doing (is she competent)?