The big sacramento meetups consume a whole evening, which I can’t usually afford to do. 

Bill You should start by contacting the Real Estate Board: There is a recovery fund for consumers who have been damaged by Brokers. http://www.dre.ca.gov/consumers/consumerrecoveryaccount.html  One of the most common reasons for Brokers to get in trouble with the board is for this kind of thing.

I slowly transitioned to hire more things out as I discovered saving 500 dollars here and their but taking 4 months rather than 1 month to turn a property around was actually costing me money and was time consuming with a full time job and as I got more rentals just the small things that come up with them.

I noticed you mentioned nothing about that, or that you might be a registered non profit, attorney or other exempt from licensure entity and, I'm sure you pointed the borrower to New York consumer protection agencies so that they could understand their rights and protections that may be available to them against foreclosure rescue fraud....but then again...you're a fast learner.

Whereas with a car- you could sell the car and STILL have debt.You could always do a mix of both- pay a HUGE down payment to have a bigger buffer between the home value and the mortgage + have a lower monthly payment.Regardless- even though it may be preventing you from buying RE at THIS MOMENT- you are doing a great job financially being completely out of consumer debt!

This part is time consuming, but it's important.

A better way than a consumer bank is to get a commercial banker.

This part is time consuming, but it's important.

Consumers still prefer to work with a skilled professional because of people touch, and local knowledge which can not be replaced by technology or automation alone.Sam Shueh Realtor

That's a much more time-consuming process than a standard eviction action.