But once you see your efforts pay off, others will not be able to catch up with you.

The most effective, so far, is co-selling, but eventually, I would like to be able to keep all my efforts.

Can I not explore houses on sites such as Realtor.com and the like, as well as put in the effort to find off market properties?

A realtor can be very helpful when you're starting out (and likely onward too) but it's worth the effort to find a really good one to work with you.

With an education resource as massive as BP it is important to make an effort every day to stay focused on your goals, and not be distracted by the immense amount of info that is available.

I'm also assuming the effort of evicting in VA would not be huge (e.g., in Georgia, it's about 30 days, fast and easy).With a lease-option, there's never a guarantee that the tenant/buyer will stay.

Finally took the plunge and quit my job and am ready to put in 100% effort into real estate.

But both deals with some good investigative work and due diligence have proven to be well worth the effort

I will put in 110% effort and drive and go above and beyond what I have to do to be successful in this industry.

I think that here in Denver, rents are high enough per unit to justify the effort of learning to self-manage through the first dozen or so units.