(Correct me if I’m wrong) but if this is correct, and I don’t use a hard money lender, what kind of loan should I look into?

You can't go wrong with adding as many of these to your portfolio.  

The amount of things that can go wrong are too many to count, especially when you have unknown unknownsI think whether you are doing it yourself or not should be determined by the size of the project.

There is no right or wrong way, its all about what works for you and you are willing to do.Cheers!

I just knew the area and was able to snatch it before anyone realized it was classified in the wrong area.

keep in mind its risk capital you can / and do have title issues.. so if you reinstate for 25k and something is wrong you can lose your 25k. 

In terms of wholesalers getting a bad rap, it's largely due to getting the numbers wrong.

Don't get me wrong, it's a nice place, but it's not 'let's take a selfie with this' kind of nice.What has your experience been?

I do know a little about rentals but was going to try to manage it myself but finding the right renter really terrifies me as I have had the wrong one before and it is a nightmare. 

This is my opinion it could be right or it could be wrong but think about it this way for a second.