The key word "make" it happen, which is what you did.

The calculators on bigger pockets are very straightforward and useful tools that can help you determine if you're buying right or not.

Keyword- System. 

My gut says you could find deals with better numbers and less risk - even if it meant investing  remotely - even though I’m not a huge fan of the additional expenses that remote investing entails.I wish you the best, but would encourage you to do some comparisons on other properties that are straight rentals without major renovations to see if they are easier / more straight forward avenues to get into real estate.  

The keyword is "Daily Service" which is something you do not provide.

When I did my first deal as an agent for my investor, I found the paperwork to be more straight forward, than a regular P&O agreement.

Refi's with large lenders are commonly taking 90-120 days, and that is on a straightforward deal with no extra hurdles to jump.

Be sure to set up some Keyword Alerts for terms you wanna be notified about, like "California" or "flipping" so you can jump into those conversations!

You can also place an ad on Marketplace in regard to seeking a hard money lender, or click on the link http://www.biggerpockets.com/hardmoneylenders Also, have you filled out your keyword alert yet?

Set up some Keyword Alerts for some of the topics you are knowledgeable about, or other topics that interest you (like Troy, New York, Rehab, etc ) so you'll be notified that those words were mentioned in the forums and can jump into those conversations!