-I'm fairly careful with communication , but again, I know doing business online is way riskier, but I want to ask: Typically, I would trust someone who seems very in-depth, informative (gives statistics and numbers), and basically would give me thorough steps (including worst-case scenarios and what would best fit my situation)^^would people who have experience say that even with the above, some agents/lenders/PMs would still be sort of out to get your money and do a lousy job?

From my research online, there haven’t been any recent violations.

You can also check their reviews online at Google, Facebook, or Yelp.

I am looking to create content online to document my journey, educate others, and market.

I'm in Austin and there is a online mattress showroom that I visited to try out different brands. 

Santarelli allegedly purchased from a government auction from the bankruptcy trustee and relaunched online.

Join local meetups or online groups (here on BiggerPockets, Meetup.com, other other local REIA are the good ones).

If the software is not simplifying your life or making you more accurate, you shouldn't use it.Software does have extremely helpful features like online payments, marketing syndication (click a button and your property is advertised on multiple sites), electronic document review/signing, maintenance tracking, and owner reports.

It appeals to desperation on both sides of the transaction, which also makes it a great online class to sell... 

I understand equity and cash-flow are related, but what I mean is that I don't need the cash flow right now as much as I'd like to build a strong portfolio that can cash flow even more later on.I've owned a single-family rental for 4 years, but on mulitple fronts I felt like I've done a poor job self-managing it, so this Fall I picked up the Turners' book on managing rentals and that's what led me here to Bigger Pockets online.