Sounds like an artery ruptured and the man would have bled out in a few minutes if it wasn’t for your quick action.

Once you have the contract in place, the best way to safe guard your interest in the property is to record the contract.

Be honest with yourself that you're betting on price appreciation and hedging against inflation because the neighborhoods with a large share of 30-somethings renting or owning in it that are fairly safe are going to be about break-even with rent prices at best.

hard money is a loan not cash even though the quick close times make it appear as a cash offer 

If that's the case, I would highly recommend you trend very carefully and focus more so on whether what they teach adheres to Dodd-Frank and SAFE, aka major federal laws on residential financing transactions.

I'm not looking to get rich quick, just to build a real estate portfolio to supplement my military income so I can retire at a young age.

This is my experience from Hurricane Katrina now 13 years ago:Properties in nice neighborhoods were available at hurricane sale prices for cash buyers.Fairly extensive rehab was required but 13 years later those properties are now worth 2 - 3 times purchase + rehab price.Not a get rich quick scheme but for those with cash and patience it was a once in a lifetime (we hope) opportunity.

Quickly accessible.

That being said, properties need to be safe.

I can practically bring in tenants after some quick and basic fixing such as the roof, painting, carpeting and new windows.