Your knowledge of the specific market will be more illuminating to the why than those outside your market.

I too learned the vast majority of my real estate knowledge though bigger pockets podcasts, forums, and books.

Have to start building relationships somewhere.Additionally, I seem to be lacking in knowledge on when I 'need' a contractor/engineer/architect.I.E.

If anyone has a similar experience or knowledge about this, I would greatly appreciate it. 

Having lived on Oahu for the past year, we are excited for this venture.Knowing that there are many complexities in the law, we were wondering if anyone had any experience/knowledge on how to do this legally.

It's like when Brandon Turner says on podcasts that he knows to buy on this side of the street but not that side of the street.....that knowledge comes from physically being in your playground.The thought of just picking a spot on the map and saying, "Yep, I'm going to invest here because the numbers say I should" without ever living there myself scares me. 

I would be careful throwing out terms like "lazy landlord" to people who are logged in to a forum like Bigger Pockets looking for advice and knowledge. 

I would be so grateful for any kind of advice or knowledge!

If you ever need a good local realtor who knows the ins & outs of every area, the realtor I use is great & he has a lot of knowledge & experience  with flips.

The first step when you are ready meaning you have gained all the knowledge that you are going to get out of webinars,E-Books, seminars etc... is securing the capital you need in order to proceed with your real estate career.