New investor, overwhelmed by choices, analysis paralysis...help!

[Dan Pearson]

Hey guys, thanks in advance for reading my post. My goal is to build a solid managed real-estate portfolio that generates at least $10k of cash flow a month. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish this, whatever amount of work this takes, doesn't matter.

The problem is I have an overload of information and lots of fear about pulling the trigger. 

I subscribe to multiple real estate investing blogs, have a subscription to Mashvisor and RealtyTrac, and can't seem to make a decision about strategy or area. For strategy I'm leaning towards multi-family 4-plex units because I like the idea of consistent cash flow, and vacation rentals kind of turn me off because it's so seasonal and under attack from counties who have a housing affordability crisis (re:everywhere). I've heard investing in Ohio, Florida, Tennessee and Texas are good bets. Knowing specific neighborhoods of cities would be very helpful to know. From my research, it seems like the best cash-flowing neighborhoods are also somewhat sketchy as far as neighborhood, crime, and schools. Is this always the case?

Regarding the fear, I've been burned in the past by my realtor, lender, contractor, property manager, and tenants. Bought a condo in Reno in 2008, and pretty much everything that could have gone wrong...went wrong. I ended up selling a few years ago at a loss...I just don't want to get burned again. Because I've been burned I'm pretty sure I can now separate the professionals from the con-artists, and from what I've read the pending recession won't affect affordable housing that much, given there's a lack of affordable housing everywhere. Thoughts?

Any advice from any seasoned pros out there? I've been shopping for years, and I need to pull the trigger on SOMETHING, for my own sanity. Looking for tips on getting great deals, advice about areas, dealing with fear, and anything else that would be helpful.