When it comes to all the cost and growth assumptions one thing I lack is the experience to understand what to expect... so most long term inputs are educated guesses.

Fill in with education what you lack.5.

- or is this process largely manual because of a lack of tools?

Do one task at a time in each app so you can compare apples to apples.Load a property with pictures and details.Market that property.See what your marketing looks like from the public's perspective.Submit a fake application to see how easy the process is.

To add insult to injury, I was charged an additional $1,000 for Flip System providing me this problematic deal.My disappointment continued with the lack of educational value provided by Flip System.

Given your presumed lack of real estate experience, OPM (other than 'traditional' bank financing) is likely off the table for now. 

Affordability or lack there of has the best chance of slowing this market but there appear to be plenty of buyers in all price ranges.

That could be anything from not accounting for capex/repairs/vacancy in their calculations or a complete lack of knowledge in how to calculate their future property tax obligation (this is a big deal in Michigan).Just the other day I had a call with an investor looking at a 10-unit property in Detroit.

However, the substantial price increases and lack of inventory have lead me to start buying tax deeds, which Georgia is a penalty state offering a 20% (non-prorated) premium. 

It seems that pushing them to do their jobs is always essential; - There is a lack of horizontal connections between employees.