@Jon Gorham   I am no tax expert by any means....or may not even a good amateur....but I would think LLC won't save you. 

And you have a lot of rookies and amateurs, because it's easy to get started.If I can give you only one tip, then this: look for an agent who personally closes at least 25 transactions per year, better 50.

It might be hard for an amateur to appraise because there aren't any comps.

At the end of the day, the financials aren't "glamorous" but they certainly separate the amateurs from the pros.    

Currently, I am in the process of purchasing my second property, which is my grandfathers 2-family house, and am at a crossroads about the best way to go about financing this.About me: I am A 28-year-old amateur real estate investor in Bergen County, New Jersey, and by profession, I am a credit analyst on a commercial lending team.

As a result, it's really hard to tell who the great operators are and who the lucky or skilled amateurs are.

- No one wants to spend $500 on pics, but you also don't want amateur looking pics either.- How is the ad written?

I amateurly but successfully self-managed for a year. 

I'm a total amateur so I don't trust my judgement much, but I felt like there was a gap (at least where I'm looking). 

Too many amateur investors used Sub2 back in the day and really messed people up financially when things didn't go right.