FTR, Don Konipol is a very intelligent person who has been investing since forever. 

I suspect my skills fall into these areas as I have a few...business intelligence..business analyst/Project management..data/financial analyst/mgr..customer experience etc..I'm both business and tech both worker and management...Is there any place to find these companies that you know of?

Granted, lending restrictions have change quite a bit and many of those stories couldn't happen today, but I'm high on that feeling that I can make anything work out of I'm creative and intelligent enough.On the topic of banks - what must I do to become more attractive to lenders?

I'm not talking about finding buyer/seller but about the actual knowledge base one needs to (intelligently) talk with and do deals with people.

The reason most intelligent investors buy off market is because it allows you to buy at a discount.  

Don't get me wrong, she is a very intelligent woman who is quite capable, but she would much rather take care of the kids and be more involved in church and I support her in that. 

On the plus side, I believe and has been my experience that a motivated, hard working, intelligent, local RE operator can make good returns in any market in the USA ... they may use vastly different strategies in different markets and may need to shift those strategies as the market shifts, but there are always good returns to be had.

However, to buy my first one I may need to drop 20% for the down payment if it's a SFR (since I couldn't use an FHA loan).Doing that will almost wipe out my current cash reserves, which means it will be a slow grind back to another 20k or so (probably 10-12 months).Conversely, I suppose I could try the fix and flip strategy to earn some cash at a faster rate, and then be able to buy more rentals at once, but I am more averse to this strategy because I lack the requisite knowledge/skills/tools for rehab and because it seems a bit more risky going into a potentially problematic property (obviously any property could be problematic but with a fix and flip you KNOW there are going to be problems).So I guess what I'm looking for are some thoughts as to the most intelligent way to utilize my current cash reserves (about 20 - 25k) in a way that doesn't immediately stunt my growth but also with respect to my risk tolerance and knowledge/skills (or lack thereof).

It's the tenant that is going to end up losing and paying more, as most intelligent landlords are pretty adept on passing on rental related costs to the tenant. 

(Intelligent) investors want that.