They are 100% correct.The downside sometimes to forums is people have a superman complex and get the impression real estate is easy as they think everyone is doing it and just jump in without the knowledge or expertise.

Get knowledge, follow experienced people, and leverage wisely.My Take:If you have two houses, excellent credit, and motivation to build wealth, you can learn to manage your money responsibly.Use HELOC, credit cards, and business credit funding to leverage your cash and buy properties faster.

I'm not an attorney or expert in AP specifically, but do have a working knowledge of it for Civil engineering/survey work and have had two projects where this came up and I was able to 'ride along' and see how it unfolded.First, if you 'know' the property has been taken by AP then there's nothing for you to do with the tax assessor etc.

That would provide you with both knowledge to help you run numbers but also provide you with a funnel network that can bring deals to you once you are ready to move on an actual property to invest in. 

That could be market knowledge, ability to rehab a property - something that can give you an edge over other experienced RE professionals in the market and asset class you are working in. 

That states KNOWLEDGE of wrong doing.

Most important thing is gaining enough knowledge to be able to purchase properties that's going to add value to the next few years of my life and my kids 

My below recommendation is something I'd do only if I had these things in order...But what I would do is put that money into lead generation dollars through Google PPC to generate new seller leads.I'd then close these deals and either assign the contract to a cash buyer OR novate the property on the MLS with the help of a local agent.After that when you have some good coin in the bank you can explore more investment options at your disposal.And just so you know -- I consider myself someone very low on the industry totem pole due to my small amount of experience. 

I work full-time; I’m trying but I know there are gaps in my knowledge.

Most of the time they are quite knowledgable.