They try to hire everyone else to do the work for them.

Hey Tucker, I would say hiring a local property manager is a game-changer for out of state investments.

We've seen it happen as we've been hired many times to clean up messes and finish projects.

You need to amass a large portfolio for it to be passive (aka hiring someone to manage).If you want to be financially independent as fast as you can then you need to do a few things. 1) get as high of an income as possible (this usually takes schooling and/or experience, think high income profession - law, medicine,etc)2) live as frugally as possible (you will sacrifice a lot here, think of not going out with friends, live at home/save on rent, etc)3) invest as much as possible and I mean invest not yoloing on random hot tips (you are starting young, time will be on your side)If you do this consistently and remain highly disciplined, you will get there faster than most.

They can walk you through all of this and will help you create a tax strategy based on your goals.Your statement that "insurance can't be deducted" reinforces that it's most likely in your best interest to hire a professional to help you with this.The forums are great but not a substitute for hiring a tax pro.

I jumped ship and tried my own SEO / Adwords campaigns, hired experts and did all the right things but couldn't generate an abundance of leads let alone anything of quality.

I purchased a duplex in Lorain in May of this year and hired a general contractor (GC) I found on Bigger Pockets.

I wanted to hire VA's to handle the cold calling aspect of things, since that is the most time consuming part in my mind.

I hadn't thought about it being out of country virtual assistants that don't adhere to the do not call list or "remove me" request. 

Scammers hire folks to solicit CA Brokers and offer them Wholesale lines..