If it wasn't for me having enough savings, I don't think I would be where I am at today.

@Jacob HavlovickBigger Pockets is a great place to find a real estate tax accountant.A good real estate accountant can save you thousands of dollars by leveraging entity selection and formation, tax deductions, cost segregations, bonus depreciation and tax planning.I recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation, business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.You may want to consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.I would also recommend looking for a accountant willing to work with you throughout the year.

If you have $100k saved up, maybe you can afford to try out a well-vetted coach. 

We managed to bring the property down in price, overcome objections, and navigate the eviction battle, and in the end, it paid off.The key takeaway here is that if you’re a true cash buyer who can work with private lenders, you can survive long, drawn-out processes like this.

Get on a budget, build your emergency fund, pay off all debts, save up.

100% VA loan, which allowed me to put money saved towards renovations.How did you add value to the deal?

If the answer is yes, then it's a no brainer to make minimum payments on your 2.8% interest rate mortgage, and use the funds that you would have paid extra to pay it down faster, to either invest in more real estate, the market, or anywhere else where you can get a ROI > 2.8%.If the answer is no, then feel free to aggressively pay it down as fast as possible, to become debt-free faster, and just have a large amount of money in savings or to splurge with.The bottom line is that your 2.8% mortgage is GOOD debt.

-PatrickA high yield savings account has a number of advantages.

The owner also needs to save for big ticket items that may need to be replaced every 10 or 20 years such as AC, hot water heater, furnace, roof.  

I do see how the knowledge could likely save me the equivalent in mistakes but none of us have a crystal ball.