That being said due to the number of sharks out there I would only spend money that I can afford to lose. 

These can be great for making initial connections and learning about specific markets.Since you're thinking long-term, consider spending some time in your target markets to build relationships with agents, property managers, and contractors.

Without a solid plan, fix & flips would be huge gamble.

In the end, it would have made more sense to hire a couple handymen for a week or two than me spending 3 weeks installing flooring, base and case.

Most gurus have their clients journey end the moment they send them the money, they join a facebook group - have overseas VA;s moderate it and provide some old videos that get repurposed.Those who are new and thinking they are creative typically get crushed as they are gambling not investing.

Stop hanging out with your deadbeat buddies who spend all day drinking, talking sports, and otherwise wasting away.

@Barre Gambling I am curious... in your opinion, is our area in central NC underserved outside of the Raleigh-Cary-Durham MSAs?

Life it too short to teach people that won't follow through...or to spend money learning stuff that you won't apply.

They seem to have a great system and I know they spend years before deciding on where to build there projects.

I'm not opposed to spending the money and have a demo scheduled with them this week, but was curious if anybody else has other data providers that they like better for more niche areas of distress such as bankruptcy, probate, divorce, code violations etc. that I can stack with my current data.I have submitted right-to-know requests with the local counties but only certain information is available and can be cumbersome.