Many YouTube videos and books on the subject will help, too.I found that practicing analyzing deals was very beneficial. 

I'm looking for a  sincere mentor to can help me and guide me to avoid all the avoidable mistakes I might go through.  

My MLS spans all throughout Tampa and mostly all of Central Florida and can give you some Comparable Market Analyses near that area to help you with this journey.

Looking to connect with brokers/ home inspectors in the San Antonio area that can help and be boots on the ground as I am out of state.Thanks!

This is truly a fantastic place to connect, learn, and continue growing your real estate knowledge and network.Keep up the momentum, and feel free to reach out if you ever want to share more about your journey or need advice.

In short I want to know ways that you have made deals like this work and/or any creative solutions for keeping a tenant in place. 

I work with plenty of out-of-state investors who are seeing great success here in Ohio.Read this article on the "core 4".

However, that won't work for several reasons:  1) The lender is not going to finance the $15k assignment fee2) The lender isn't going to consider the purchase price in this example to be $150k, they would typically use the $135k price in the original contract, and 3) In this particular example they may not even use the $135k price because it's not an arms-length transaction since it ultimately boils down to a deal between you and your father.I applaud you for trying to be creative, but ultimately what you're proposing isn't going to work and it's going to make the transaction a lot more complicated than it needs to be.

I understanding is the TN has some crazy rules and regulations that complicate this process. 

It might help you out if you're a hammer swinger type guy who can produce workmen like quality results versus homeowner DIY results.Someone who has been in this business for awhile , and brings a lot more knowledge , and contacts to the deal we'll have a lot better chance at performing a turn around on the property then to someone who is new and inexperienced.