What would be the gains and losses from this and who would I talk to about doing this?

I am a Project Manager in the Video Games industry.Recently, I've been really studying and focusing on my long term future (retirement) plan, and I believe Real Estate Investing is a great way to achieve that, so I would like to learn as much as possible from this amazing community and, eventually, take a leap of faith to get started.Since I currently have a Full Time Job that is really demanding (~50 - 60 hours a week), my goal is to try to create a passive income from my investments.Looking forward to learning from all of you!

YOu can look for non-performing notes, 2nds, be a lender, participate passively, etc.The landlord and rehabber are just the routes that most people take.

This one was purchased from an older landlord looking to liquidate some properties and I gained a good private financing relationship out of the deal to boot. 

and lead me to wanting to learn about passive income, and acquiring financial freedom.

@Kevin MasonNotes and lending to other established real estate investors can be a good way to passively grow the account balance.

I would get the capital gains exclusion on the unit I lived in.

How can a wholesaler gain from a rental property that is still occupied and gets good rents

There is no requirement to pay salaries or payroll tax for passive real estate investing.  

No landlord headaches vs holding for appreciation, but wow-the short-term capital gains (ordinary income rate) plpus the self-employment tax b.s. really reduces your profit.