Whomever told you Columbus was/is the best simply has no clue what they are doing.

anyone who is teaching people to call banks to get loans has no clue what they are doing, there was one guru who had one student get loans from a bank and then sold it into 5 programs only to make themselves money.

Here they are:-How can I estimate reno costs if I don't have a clue on prices and I don't bring in a contractor until after I buy the home? 

Infinite Banking says the solution to the real problem in America is to solve one’s need for finance throughout one’s life.

The issue you are trying to solve is getting the cash in hand to purchase the new home, potentially looking at a financial product to access the equity in the property?

That will solve so much!

You have the immediate problem of income - REI is not going to solve that.

Having some clue about property management and tenant relation will definingly help your success in this field.

Rent coming in solves all problems.

A lot of them are all about the big look and doing creative, artsy-fartsy things, but have very little clue as to how a building is actually built.