Birmingham has proven to be a big destination for young professionals with degrees - a group that  starts more businesses at a younger age than previous generations.

Also, maybe someone could reach out here and explain why they got the license when being a "real estate professional" wasn't the end goal?

That is, don't buy any notes at first.Instead, get good at marketing for notes (that is, finding notes through either direct mailing from purchased note holder lists or networking through professional referral sources)-- I like the preformingnote space (the "ma and pa") note holders as I am good at finding them and I'm used to dealing with these types of people...a lot of the time, they need guidance and that's where I come in.

I am trying to avoid an FHA (203K) because I do not want to get stuck tacking on thousands of additional dollars (that I will be paying PMI on) to pay a professional to paint the inside and outside of the house to meet the "no peeling paint" requirements in order to close on loan.

Though I did not use his services I saw his operation and work ethic and found him to be professional and innovative in his thinking and business approach.

I would further imagine that if you wanted to purchase one or more of these properties, that you could get a reinspection after having a professional lead abatement contractor clear up the issue. 

All forms of communication can be electronic and you never have to meet in person...even if you are self managing...My tenants are trained and empowered to problem check and resolve issues on their own...if they can't figure it out, it's their home and they can call a professional to fix it and cc me via text.

His background is different, meaning - he's not a building/contractor guy by education or professional training. 

It is usually easy to identify who is a landlord and who is a professional property manager.

He is a professional we are just a bunch of people on the internet.