Not to say I don't feel bad and sorry for these folks but at some point you have to stop the excuses.Regardless, its entertaining, and I'm gleaming some insight in how to deal with some of the problematic tenants through his trials and tribulations.

Hypothetically speaking, I know if I were to go get a small $15K house I could do a large amount of the work (financial and labor) I may not be able to fix every problem, but thankfully I've been raised around service men of all kinds and if I run into a problem or two I'm sure I know someone who knows the solution.So, in a nutshell: In your opinion, is it better to go under a mentor and learn the ropes or buy a cheap auctioned forclosure and learn by trial and error? 

Adding a roommate, even if on a trial basis, is not considered a guest and needs approval prior to move in.

I know investor carrot does demos and realeflow is offering a $1 trial so see which you like better.

The biggest thing you need to worry about at this point is taking action, trial and errors are your best friends. 

There used to be a three month trial membership that was (obviously) a lower price than the full year - I think it was 1/3 of the annual rate but not 100% sure about that since I never used that myself, and I am not sure if that is still offered or not.So, the suggestion I make is go to the main meeting for free and spin the wheel - if you get a big enough discount you can judge whether to join then or just pass until you are moved in locally.You can email the office using the "info" address to get more specific details; somebody is there M-F in the mornings, so if you phone or email that is when you will get a hold of somebody.

Just look at how that worked out for OJ Simpson in the civil trial and subsequent judgment as a concrete example.ps...

It's about $40/month, but the good news is that there is a free 7-day trial which will provide numerous addresses (for my city there are hundreds) to explore further.

Once I start to get financials, I look forward to dieting them.And...

As an aspiring agent and investor, should I expect more lessons like this to occur via trial and error?