So,The big picture: My father is going to take a heloc out on his house in order for us to purchase and renovate a property and then we are going to use my personal first time home buyer, to purchase the house with a mortgage and pay off the portion of heloc used.My credit is ok (650ish) but I have no money since my entire check goes into maxing out 401k and company stock plan.

But it is a cash-flowing investment as good as any rental or any other return like stocks.

.- get out of 401k and stock market, and get into self directed Ira.

The dark stain--which looks great on the deck--makes them visually go away, even given the contrast against the white siding.I would do the exact same treatment on the back porch, with one railing and newel post.Stair builders or maybe even a local cabinet shop would be your source, and shouldn't be expensive at all, since it's all stock materials.

I have read books at the library about real estate investing, stocks, and entrepreneurship etc. 

For a stock market analogy, I'm more of a dividend investor who likes slow constant returns as opposed to a growth investor who endures the peaks and valleys of overall return so your comment about not worrying about jumping into the "hot" market is fairly spot on. 

I typically like to get at least $300 (the minimum) in monthly cash flow and no less than 12% ROI but aim for 15% when you consider that the average stock market return over 40 years has a return of 7%-12, of course this can change for your area and even so, what deals you get.

I'm glad to hear you're interested in turnkey - you'll find a lot of very strong opinions about it here, but if you work with someone you trust and make sure to do very thorough due diligence when finding that provider (which means a lot of research and a lot of questions) then it can absolutely be one of the best ways to generate passive income - like the Blue Chip dividend stocks of REI ;)Regarding your question about cash purchases, it really comes down to what your priorities are.

And it's 100 degrees and humid out there, so that was pretty surprising to me.We also recently stocked our pond with fish.  

I use Stock Building Supply on San Fernando Rd in Glassell Park (LA).