I am looking to increase my portfolio but don't know where/how to decide or find the following: Best type of investment for me, How to find good dealsWhich areas to target (am I ready/capable of making an out of Houston investment)Good investment realtors Good investment lendersGood landlord insurancesHow to run numbers @Brad Tabor, I've made a few ignorant investments and want to do my homework so I can cross all the "t" and dot the "i" this time around.

Passive opportunities generally come when you are a player in the game, can’t be on the sidelines!

Can't wait to see what I'm capable of. 

I believe that you are allowed to but it is not something that most homeowners are capable of doing themselves.

Most larger cities will have crime mapping capabilities and you can call the police analyst to get more details with an open records request.

Yesterday, I started my day by speaking with a very successful mid-level note player.

Aside from poor internal communication, I don't feel like they're capable of handling a more complex set of requirements, and I certainly am not convinced they're able to handle functioning as a the first line of gatekeeping for my acquisitions.

Yes, people buy wholesale deals but, as a newbie, you are likely not capable of finding and negotiating a deal that would be sellable. 

I would think that my original way would be smarter because in the event of an "oh sh#t" discovery in the property during inspections, I could tack it onto the rehab loan  (if the cost of the fix is worth it still of course.)I was also wondering which method would be better for someone like me who is very capable of doing a lot of work myself.

Most equipment is capable of operating on either, with one quick part swap.