Not having insurance is just not smart.

A smart marketing gimmick but best believe that you are paying the PMI off somehow (in this case via a higher interest rate)I am not saying that PMI buyouts are bad, in anyway.

Your "strategy" (aka common sense) of saving up capital is very smart, do whatever it takes to save as much as you can if you are serious about investing.

Running into a lot of sellers that will not say anything about the property, or how they acquired it, completely ridding themselves of any liability. i get it, it's smart, most of them are probably buying sight unseen or whatever the case may be. is there a way to get a sellers disclosure form from them?

The actual "lock up" happened when people started finding out smart people were betting against them in the form of credit default swaps. 

OOS turnkey investment is not very smart.

I was able to get through all of it and pass the two tests on the first try by staying incredibly focused, and utilizing some smart studying tactics.

In fact if I were smart I would drive the 25 miles from my home on the coast--NO A/C HERE--and sit in the cool lobby of my apartment building.

I did this all while pretty much learning about and deciding if I wanted to buy a house or investment property so if you are a beginner and have 6 to 12 months to earn credit, I think it is a smart move.  

Smart thinking!