It has been a long running dream of mine to get involved in REI. :) I decided 2016 was going to be my year.

I have no background in real estate except being involved when my dad purchased his current house a few years ago. 

I like @Rick's response - - UNLESS you are a party to the transaction (for clarity, the buyer OR the seller) you'll only muddy the water and if you were involved as a contractor at any capacity, you can easily get your name sullied needlessly. 

Plus, Uncle Sam sticks his fingers in when interest is involved.

Which if any of the tasks below might involve significant health/legal/financial repercussions due to lead or asbestos in the materials:  Sanding down the wood floorsDemoing the bathroomDemoing the kitchenReplacing paneled walls with sheetrockReplacing the flooring in the kitchenOpening up two passagewaysSoffit repair

I would get your RE license first while you still have a job and then gradually get involved into RE.Just my two cents.

The parties involved have 10 days to file an objection to the sale before a certificate of title is issued.  

There just won't be enough profit margin with an agent involved, not to mention you will not really find the deeply discounted deals as you can find by direct marketing. 

Tenants are generally not the most upstanding people in these locations and the headaches involved are generally not worth it.

What does it involve?