Perception of "easy" profits goes up, amateurs enter the market, market cools, many people exit the market and so the cycle continues. 

The last one resulted in $23,000 in damages when a friend failed to inspect a home for two weeks during a cold spell and pipes froze.Hiring a PM may cost money, but it can result in higher rents, fewer vacancies, and it protects your time/sanity.If you think it's expensive to hire a professional, try hiring an amateur.

If you're an amateur and have never flipped or renovated a home before, I would stay away from something requiring that much work.The market is still dropping.

Or are the 'amateurs' and 'burnt out' PMers potentially interested in doing a 'terms deal' after some edu... and willing to pay you up front for turning them on to a better way of getting out of the standard 'rental' scene (Particularly if they only rented the property because it wouldn't 'sell...') via say a simple option reassignment, if you do the work to improve their situation and cashflow??

I now realize that I an amateur in the game, but no less, in the game and have the potential to amass some more properties and basically want to set the blueprint for future purchases.

One property ahead" is amateur hour.

It mostly attracts the desperate, poor, ignorant, and greedy amateurs of real estate investing.

This is too big for an amateur.

I am by all means still an amateur with regard to Real Estate Investing, but feel that I have passed the 'flash in the pan' phase as you previously stated.

I don't see any spacers used either ( another indication of amateur workmanship).