I've found that what I value most in regards to real estate investing are the people who know about actual home repair and can approach a sale from that perspective.

Some owned are inside ROTH IRA'S so I will never pay or owe ANY tax or capital gains on the profits.Some are 1000% tax free profit, before adding in the accumulated tax free rental income, If you finding better investments, I'd love to hear the details.I tried to use a financial calculator once, it just got real hot and burst into flames.

What additional services or support, beyond financing, do real estate investors value when working with a private or hard money lender?

My uncle is part of the RHA and has found it helpful https://www.rhawa.org/I keep meaning to check it out but haven't since I can get so much second hand information off of him and others I know in real estate.

I'm excited about buying my first home as I pursue a duplex here in Houston to launch my real estate journey.

@Jay LindgrenRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

This would be my first real estate transaction. 

This latter group is called "REO" (for "real estate owned").

is empora title a real title company?

Based on my knowledge of real estate and irrevocable trusts (not a whole lot but enough) it doesn't sound like there was anything done illegally.