But in practice there have been a lot more investor complaints from the latter, and it's proven to be very difficult to pull off successfully.

Pull this off and you've proven extremely resourceful.

I would be sure to ask them how their students are doing in a market like the one you are trying to enter so you know you are working with relevant information that is proven to work in your type of market. 

I've seen a lot of people start out buying and selling properties in their personal name, and after they've done a few deals and proven the business model to themselves, THEN they form an LLC (note: this is not legal advice - just an example of what I've seen some people do).

I’m not planning on buying anything else right away but want to take a year or two to thoroughly educate myself on how the market works, how to finance safely, how to find and recognize good deals and anything else that would help me make good choices when I get some money to invest.

I would keep doing what you have been doing, since you have proven that it works until you can do something on a larger scale.

I obviously didn't recognize the hidden gem that is BiggerPockets at that time because I didn't come back until late last year when I committed to making my first real estate investment.

Generally, this has proven to be true. 

It’s an easy thing to do on the mls and then just start analyzing as many deals as possible so you recognize a good deal right away.  

The thing you must recognize is that major issues like this present opportunities as it scares the beginners and even some pros away.