Typically if you live in a primary residence for long enough (2 years I think) you don't have to pay capital gains up to a few hundred thousand dollars @Mindy Jensen talks about this a bunch as one of her primary investment avenues.

Aging MLS inventory, seller motivated by capital gains tax trigger.

When I say this I mean that if you are restricted by capital that keeps you. below the 100k mark then you really don't have much of a choice, however if you have more liquidity that is possible to use then you could go int it with the goal to find something under the 100k mark and still be open to higher priced deals that may have other upside like appreciation and overall area development that increases the price of the home over time- (capitalizing on gains that may not be received by buying in An area that is lower entry but provides great CoC return/ cashflow only as opposed to larger appreciation in addition to okay cash flow.)

For me, I gain the underwriting experience on managing a deal, and for you - the value add is that I can bring in strategic partners for debt capital. 

Anyways, when it's all said and done, seeing the ROI/cash flow potential and the learning experience that I gained from this project makes it all worth it!

It’s the extra 5 years of experience, knowledge and relationships gained.

After livinging in it for 2 years we avoided capitol gains and bought our new home and started doing the same thing.

If you reject the lease assignment then the existing tenant would still be responsible for rent and the existing lease stays in force, so you have gained nothing. 

So now I have gained some knowlegde on how the process works but I need some pointers to get me headed in the right direction to find a good deal.

With school as the primary focus, those two options allow you to be involved in real estate, without having to say oversee a rehab project or manage a STR/LTR (short term/long term rental).There will be plenty of time for all of this of course, but studying (inside school and out), gaining the knowledge base and networking will give you all the fire power you need later on to close deals and accomplish your goals!