You won't be successful without knowledge.

My recommendation is to find a market, but start networking at meetups and REIA's to understand the current trends.I just received an email from one of the most successful wholesale educators in the midwest who is now getting in to note investing.

Has anyone had a success using the online auction system, and do you pay to do a title search for every bid, or do you do your own due diligence free free sources?

@Paul Callaway..i've been looking for the same thing with no success.

I think you can be successful either route, just do your homework.

Not exclusively...and not always as successfully as I'd like...but generally...yes that's the intent :-)

House hacking is one of the fastest and easiest ways to achieve financial success.

I've also continued to educate myself (reading real estate/success-related books, listening to podcasts, chatting on BP, etc.). 

It's vital to do this if you want to achieve long term success.

Where I see the most success in a 1031 is where a seller holds a VERY liquid asset where he/she can control the timing of the sale.