- Should I go back to school and obtain an Associates degree in Real Estate? 

While this is municipality dependent, if the contractor is not licensed you likely cannot obtain the necessary permits and approvals.

They obtain and manage capital, whether it’s private equity/debt, bank financing or personal capital.

This will increase the return above what can be obtained on a passive investment.The flipside of having the power to control everything is that it can be alot of work (and a full-time job if a person is putting in sweat equity).

Also, 18 months is too short a period of time to obtain a truly significant result.  

Is that process too complicated, yes, but there is nothing in this decision that will prevent a tax sale purchaser in MD from reselling at a profit after obtaining the property by foreclosing the right of redemption.

I would focus on improving your credit and obtaining a more stable income so that conventional financing is an option. 

First, most investors and owners of real estate related businesses are in one or more of the following situations1- they’re unable to duplicate their expertise that drives the ROI and they are at their personal max capacity as to time2- they’re obtaining high ROI by use of excessive leverage 3 - they’re obtaining high ROI by taking excessive risk4- they hit correct timing in the correct market, and this is not necessarily repeatable with any probabilityIn order for an investment or business to scale, we need the ROI (on a risk adjusted basis) to be sufficient to cover a PREMIUM risk adjusted return to passive investors; all expenses of managing the assets and the business, and a significant return to the “sponsor” providing compensation to him making the work, risk and time worth while. 

This my goal to obtain over the next 5-10 years.

I am on a real estate journey to grow and obtain a potent Real Estate Portfolio.