it's not that tough, guys, at least, not in many parts of US. Many big old houses can be had for 80k, sometimes for much less, on tax sales. the employment guy at VA hospital, VFW, DAV, etc, will put you in touch with MANY unemployed vets who have not yet used their once in a lifetime VA home loan guarantee. They must have a job before they can qualifty for such a loan. So YOU hire them, as your "gofer", in return for them becoming the building manager of your big old building, which you rent out as weekly rooms.
Google for VA home mortgage guarantees, college loans, FAFSA, Pell grants and your local jr college. You can get enough money to get started. I HIGHLY recommend that you use your school loan to go to the Phills and marry a dentist there. She can and will pay you a clear 30k per year for 3 years here, working as a dental hygienist. With that income and the rest of your school loans, you can quickly have several such major income producing properties. There's many books at your local library about all you need to know about this. Subcontractors and home inspectors to assure you of the building's value/risks, real estate oriented atty's and insurance people, , guy's who'll teach you about tax sales, room rentals. google for Oxford house, and check out what those guys pay for a room (and one meal a day). $125 a week. that's what. nothing says that your tenants have to be in recovery from dope/booze, but you still make them sign a "sober living' contract, so that you can evict them at will. they pay week by week, so you can keep a full building.
