I wish I had someone to guide me in a better direction but this is all I can think of.

What I learned from my research is (1) It is not a loan paid to you directly.  

Find properties direct / or find them through wholesale, rehab through a contractor, then use a property management company to manage the property.

I am pretty sure I take all the deductions I'm due and I've vehicles such as as solo 401K, self-directed IRA, Roth, etc. but I think I might be missing out on larger-picture strategies for investing and tax savings.

Start doing direct mail campaigns and then go from there. 

One thing to look into would be a self directed IRA if using your retirement account to invest in real estate. 

I understand that you are looking to live off the investment income, but if not, a better option would be rolling over that money into a self-directed IRA and invest with tax benefits.

Netronline.com, under the Public Records Online tab, will let you search for the county and then give you links directly to the various relevant county departments.That said, if a hedge fund owns the note, they may not record the assignments.

If you are a self-directed IRA or 401 k specialist, can you please reach out to me.

Where I am located, we don't directly use a title company for our closings.