The number one mistake that I saw buyers making was jumping right into negotiating (and not very good negotiating at that) without first spending the time to build rapport.

Hi Zoe, welcome good for you to start early, time is the most important ingredient with investing.

I recently bought 5 pieces of land all in Michigan -- one is in Jackson and the other four are in Saginaw.

If you pursue a degree, select one that provides the skills that allow you to earn a revenue stream once you leave your W2. 

WE see it on BP all the time.. 

I'm personally making my exit - I never did assemble a team (it costs money for one, then you need the manpower and time to manage it).

But I don’t know what value they will add and how to find a good one.

At that time, few realized that you can buy and sell loans, so the software didn't exist.

There are a lot of other strategies one can try, but what you do is the lowest risk, the most predictable outcome and takes the least amount of time and energy.I always suggest to use an extra time an investor has to think about building or buying a business that generates cash to accelerate the growth curve. 

As you say, it's not a win-win at this time, 100%.