Generally that works but it may be owned by an entity without a phone number.

I'm currently working under a general contractor by day, a job I took with the intention of getting into fix & flip, which will be my main strategy for the first while.

My advantages that I know of are my ability to get a mortgage (W-2 income, credit, and debt ratio are all good), having enough cash and house equity to get a 25% down non-occupied loan on a SFH or duplex (in my market), willingness to sell and move to house hack a 3-4 unit, understanding the fundamentals and math of small residential REI, love of learning "systems", and being a complete badass at life in general ;)My disadvantages that I know of are that I don't have experience yet in buying/managing rentals, and I haven't met enough other investors to learn about a lot of deals early in the pipeline.What would you do in my situation?

There is more and more information coming available to the general public.

@Jay Velasco i would generally say no.

It's a single visit and I've found them to generally be pretty helpful. 

I know the general idea for beginning to invest is to just jump right in, and I am completely ok with doing that, but am I really ready?

"In contract law when something is not clear, it is generally interpreted in a way least advantageous to the person who crafted the contract.

Generally, I think they take better care of my property because they know I own it and am engaged about managing the relationship. 

I assure you it will generally be the same for all serious investors.