Here are some local meetups and groups in the Portland Metro area that you might find helpful:Local REIA Group: A solid place to start for networking and learning as mentioned by Melissa!

You can find a VA or a younger person to pay.

One property is rented with a tenant in place, and the home in Riverside, CA is the home of the person who passed.

If you can't keep control of your personal finances, you are highly unlikely to succeed in real estate investing.

Personally I see money orders as a pain to deal with both for the tenant and for myself by adding unnecessary steps. 

We personally won't look at a deal where we don't think we won't make at least $50,000 after all expenses and closing... and truthfully we are usually wanting closer to $100,000 or more.  

Things that any normal person could fix.

There are a ton of CRMs out there, but I personally love Zoho and how customizable it is

I would suggest you have a separate bank account for your rental and your personal so you dont co-mingle funds.

I currently live in Dallas (Plano area) and looking for a solid lender to purchase my first SFH in NE Dallas.What are your thoughts on RBFCU and PennyMac?