Thats what I did in 2019 and it gave me much needed confidence to grow my portfolio. 

So I’m fairly confident they were not trespassers. 

Start with low-commitment options like REITs, gradually exploring bigger deals as you gain confidence and market knowledge.

Once you have this team in place, you should have the foundation to invest in any market confidently while not being there physically.https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/core-four-real-estate-team

I personally don't know the investor very well, but I have a close friend that has lent money to him on multiple occasions within the past six months, which gives me a little bit more confidence. 

I'm pretty confident there are other solutions out there for the property.

So I’m confident I’ll be fine. 

Go see properties tl get familiar with the area then when something pops up you can pounce and you're confident in your numbers.

It's one thing to be confident in your knowledge and abilities; it's something else entirely to be arrogant while putting everyone else down in the process.Paying money for a course and/or coaching/mentoring is certainly not necessary for someone to be successful, nor does doing so guarantee success - as a previous commenter said, the majority of people who buy a course never do anything with it. 

By going to meetups and meeting people you will learn a lot which will give you not only more knowledge but confidence to sell yourself to your network and others when looking for money.