May I say that you have been lucky in your first RE investment but to continue your success you need to become more educated in the tools of RE investing. 

I know that your first deal doesn't need to be a home run and that time in the market can help not only make money but help me in gaining valuable experience for my next deal (which I hope to be before the end of 2022).Seasoned investors, what would you do if you were a first-time homebuyer trying to find your first deal again?

I am sure that there are better tools or methods in doing this, and therefore would love to hear how others are coming up with their rent estimates when evaluating properties.

This is my understanding of the concepts, though it is quite complex so any insight on this strategy would be very valuable.

This was valuable to hear and an important reminder. i hope things have continued to progress well and that 2022 proves to be a successful one. 

@Zach WoodsThere are also listings of software on bigger pockets under tools then property management.

He really should have just linked them in his post so you could find it easily, but if you go to the BP podcast page, you can just type in the podcast number under the search tool, and it will be the first one that pops up. 

Check out the crime stats (SpotCrime is a great tool) and school ratings (Greatschools / Zillow) to narrow the neighborhoods down.

I know tools such as the BP calculators are available for use, but I want to learn what goes on behind the scenes to fully understand the numbers (math) and specifically what it means so i can better gain an understanding & make better investment decisions when the time comes.Any advice/ tips or tricks on analyzing deals & double checking the numbers (before proceeding with the deal? 

There are so many good tools and websites out there but as a newbie out of state investor I always find this that or the other functionality lacking in every tool.