I’m in Florida. any advice or past experience with what to do or not to do is greatly appreciated. 

Mariposa, Oakhurst and Twain’s Heart and Arnold areas.I'm wondering if anyone here has experience with short term rentals in this area.

My aunt (who is not a successful real estate investor, but has some experience with flipping) says I shouldn't jump into a triplex because I'm too new.

Quick backstory on myself and my real estate experience: I am a Wholesaler/Investor in the Metro - Detroit area and I am about to start Direct mail for the first time.

I have zero experience, but my wife and I eat out a lot???"

Had a bad experience recently with a contractor.

From my experience, the most reputable/reliable GCs will charge for a scope of work and overall consultation/advice.

@Scott EwellLeveraged vs debt-free is a personal decision to some extent.Leverage will give you a higher ceiling on your investment, whereas debt free provides the lower floor.While I can't say which is best for you in particular; I can say that, in my experience, every majorly successful investor I've come across uses debt in their strategy to some degree.

I was trying to be nice and just explain that you can't actually manage real estate if you have no money and no experience.

You should be receiving a monthly owner statement and then you can just incorporate it into your corporate accounting.I have almost 20 years of PM experience in the accounting/finance world.