IMO, that is a small price to pay in order to double or triple my investments (plus, the extra cash flow per month beats the big fat goose egg I got every month from my Vanguard Roth IRA and brokerage account). 

Networking is good but on that end everyone seems always tied up in their own real estate affairs that I feel like I'm pushed to the back burner.

Whatever tools anyone wants to use to employ the key is practice.A 400 pound police officer out of shape is going to have limited effectiveness just like someone taking the arts for decades that teaches but no longer trains and is fat and out of shape.It's not what you learn it's HOW you implement it.

Basically my hell was making some fat-cat across the country rich.

My fat thumbs have taken long google walks and Ive seen some really awesome stuff and Ive seen some really hideous stuff as well.

The handyman's burner phone is off, but she feels he was a nice guy & saved her alot of money.

There is money to be made in all of those communities and the cash flow is probably very fat compared to other areas in NJ, but just know the area well before diving into a tough town.  

Oil Burner that needs to be swapped or converted5.

Only things I’ve seen over the years are Gas Burner, Heat Pump, “Solar” (run the water through black piping exposed to the sun.) and once on the tv show thsi old home I saw an AC unit that dumped its heat to the pool.

I'm a licensed GC so I got caught up in building everyone else's projects and put my own on the back-burner.