This was my worst rental related mistake ever.Trust your gut. 

In Trustee sales once you hand over your check its done your money is gone and not coming back unless there was a mistake in the sale or the owner filed a very late BK that was not caught before the sale was cried.

I had no money to put down on any properties, so I learned (a lot) and put in a lot of hard work and effort to get some properties under contract.Initially, I had no clue what I was doing, but I had the help of some people (and I appreciated that)I made mistakes that cost me around $30k (lost a deal due to my ignorance regarding title and escrow)The good news with wholesaling is that it doesn't take a lot of capital upfront, and you can start talking to sellers and learn about the industry in general.The other good news is that you can without a doubt generate revenue quickly if you do things correctly (having a good TC / title / escrow connection that keeps deals moving on the backend)That said, there are a few points that I've come to live by:1.

These books are filled with practical advice to help you avoid these mistakes that start small and snowball into major issues.

Flipping homes can be an amazing business model but there is definitely a higher chance of you losing money then other avenues so if your afraid of costly mistakes that might not be the best way to start then.

@Adam RossRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

Do not make the mistake of including non-operating expenses in your NOI.

To me every generic question like this post, the first response should be an AI response, followed by individuals personal take and experience.OP:Start small and Make Your Big Mistakes Early. 

I began to see through everything, but because of my kind nature (that has since been changed) I felt obligated to continue trusting him, that it was a mistake.. that it would get better.

Just don't make the mistake of comparing what someone else profits on a role, to decide whether your compensation is sufficient or not.