Even if you don't yet have the ability to flip houses or buy rentals, you still need to go through as many of the same steps as possible, so you can learn.You can do all this without quiting your main job too.

We’re looking at a deal, the listed disclosure says there’s structural issues and after speaking to the neighbor they said that the “main support beam” was cut during a previous renovation.  

and congratulations on making the decision to invest for the first time :) I have written a blog post that may help you narrow the choices for a real estate agent.

Is cash-flow the main reason for investigating in FL (Tampa, cape coral, the villages etc)?

I wrote a blog post that may help you narrow down your real estate agent choices.

My main challenge as a part-time investor is being lower on their buyer's list but that just logical business.

A personal home is a life style choice not a investment.Due to the fact that a personal home is more expensive to own and maintain renting while saving to invest is a smarter option for those wishing to concentrate on investing.

We lost a friendship over this unfortunately - but it was their choice, not ours. 

I grew up in Maine, lived in Colorado for ten years or so and moved back last summer.

Any success stories especially around Maine?