I've read numerous guides and watched many YouTube videos, so I have a good theoretical understanding, but I'm still unsure about the best way to start investing in U.S. real estate.My plan is to begin with long-term rental properties and then eventually move into flipping and the BRRR (Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat) strategy.

As you read these books, watch the BiggerPockets podcasts.

Understanding the markets to avoid, what laws to watch out for and selecting the proper strategy that goes with property plays a huge part in this. 

You will have to verify those yourselves to ensure you end up with correct operating expenses.Quote from @Andrew Newcomb: Just following up on this in case anyone is still following:I learned about "cap rate" and "cash on cash" metrics in the BP learning articles and watched a couple vids on the BP rental calculator showing how it calcs those metrics for a prop (you have to add the details like loan info, expenses, etc). very cool tool.

As you read these books, watch the BiggerPockets podcasts.

You are not pepsi, apple or alphabet….

You can't let one bad apple jade you and turn you off to real estate investing or a particular market, First of all, Morris Invest was never a turn key company.

Most section 8 tenants are decent, few bad apples ruin the bunch. 

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.

From the videos I watched and everything I read I think RESimpli does a good job of that.