Even when lockouts are finally ordered, it's not at all uncommon for them to be canceled, countless times. 

The links Brandon provided are very useful and there are countless threads with people in a similar position as you.  

I've looked at countless Youtube videos, read countless books/articles but I would still love a little more guidance.

I don't show up anywhere on title and that's the way I like it.I highly recommend you not waste your time with properties worth less than $100K and spending countless hours trolling Craigslist building a pretender buyers list.

It's the cheapest and easiest investment you will make in your real estate career and it will open up a lot of options.You will have access to the local MLS which is more up to date and has more powerful search tools than most RE websites.You will get a 3% discount on every property you purchase.When a new property comes on the market you will have instant access instead of waiting on your agent.You don't have to hassle with a Agent when it comes to writing countless offers..

I've referred countless people to him who all have thanks me more than once.

I have heard countless stories such as yours from investors across the country.

fast forward to closing time: Seller fled the country. takes me 10 months and countless visits to small claims court to get a court order to permit escrow/ title co. to release my EMD back to me.

Many of us have spent countless hours answering the questions you're asking, and to not be willing to spend a few minutes looking for those answers basically says to us that you think your time is more valuable than ours.Also, as Bill pointed out, there are many of here who are happy to answer any specific questions you might have that haven't already been answered...but taking the attitude that "we don't care to help" really isn't going to motivate us to help...Real estate (like any difficult endeavor) takes time and effort...

I have reviewed countless real estate investment proposals which include IRR projections.