I did a lot of repairs myself but also hired a few skilled contractors for things like electrical work and plumbing.

You need to understand the market, advertise to buyers, show it in the best light, know what to say and what not to say, be skilled at negotiation, understand contracts, and much more.If you don't know how valuable a good agent can be, it's because you've never used one, or they made it look easy because they are skilled. 

So, every non-government job your tenants have will end in the foreseeable future unless new companies move into the city and create replacement jobs that pay similar wages and require similar skills; Otherwise, soon all that will be left are lower-paying service sector jobs.

When I was his age and even into my early 30's I had a fear of speaking to people or publicly and am comfortable doing it now, but we have felt this is a good skill to have.

And the problem with that is they took investments between then and there, and that to me is the difference between fraudulent behavior and risk management.ODC is not a scam, it's just a pied piper who was all luck no skill from their historical success.

If you need a complicated surgery, that doctor is going to be expensive because of their skills and abilities to save your life.

Knowing that AI has natural language processing skills, I was hoping to see if it's possible to point, teach, interact, and then pull back responses for prospecting purposes.

So you need some tangible experience + very quality deal + communication skills to present to the investors.

Really puts into perspective my strategy given my current situation.I will continue to accumulate capitol and work on my skills/knowledge for when i will embark on my rental real estate journey whether it be here (if i stay longer than anticipated) or when I come back to the US once my contract is completed. 

Your scattered approach is going nowhere fast (analysis paralysis) and is highly likely to result in someone taking advantage of you:(Recommend:1) Figuring out what investment approach suits your skills & risk tolerance2) Determining where in the US to apply your chosen approach3) Learning everything you can about that market4) Networking & building contacts & team in the market5) Doing a "test" investment in that market to make sure your expectations are met6) Investing more if your expectations are met.-- If not, go back to step #1 as you many have chosen the wrong approach!