This is due to interest rates, more and more investors, retail prices, etc.

I've personally worked with a handful of "investor-friendly" lenders, primarily on DSCR loans in recent years, and each time I've run into significant delays, lack of transparency about the process, have been fed the requirements in a piecemeal fashion (every few days there's a new random request rather than having it all organized from the start), and have even run into lenders who were substantially misinformed about the real estate industry or the laws that govern it on both a local and federal level.I think there should be a better site to encourage accountability by tracking how long it actually takes each lender to close their loans on average, and what unexpected hurdles investors encounter when trying to work with them.I can't seem to find such a site.

What are your favorite resources or tips for continuous learning and expanding your network in the real estate industry?

I look for 1. responsiveness 2. knowledge in industry 3. ratesNumber 2 "knowledge in industry" directly affects your cost. 

That's what retail buyers, at least, are looking for.

This is done by hiring an industrial hygienist or an air quality professional to come to the property and test the air and surfaces for mold spores.

The retail is booming, the only downside IMO, is the infrastructure.

There is also VinFast, WolfSpeed, the Toyota Battery Plant, ... large pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers, energy producers, and a diverse cross section of other industries who are moving to or expanding within an hour of Raleigh.

For instance, I thought some of the purchase price for the properties were way too high above retail, or the rehabs weren’t very nice and didn’t looked rehab at all, or they were renting at well below the 1% rule etc.I took a look through Antoine's inventory and found the purchase price of their homes were in my sweet spot: $60-100k in markets like Cleveland, Memphis, and Birmingham.

While I am not a full time flipper *YET*, I have strong knowledge and experience in the architecture, design, and construction industry.