Be prepared to answer a lot of tough questions about the risks and the process in general.On the plus side, having to pay cash and be at the auction in person usually roots out the "know nothing" buyers that drive prices up.

Personally, we spent about a year and a half listening to podcasts, reading a bunch of REI books, and talking to experienced investors before we felt the time is right.

I'm playing the long game.

Not necessarily but I felt as though I didn’t need to spend more time there personally.

@Henry HsiehTo provide a different perspective:I am NOT a property manager so I have no skin in this game  But I can tell you, as a GP involved with over 1100 units and $140M AUM, good property management is a big key to successful investment. 

Some of those local competitors will pay all cash, site unseen, with title issues.This is a numbers game, so find the zip codes/neighborhoods with a lot of market activity (i.e., the most dots on a Zillow map search) and delve deeper to see if it's an area of interest.Lastly, when looking up properties, be mindful of taxes.

Biggest thing is to make sure the agent and title company are competent in Seller Financing, I personally close my Seller Financing deals with a title company who has a real estate attorney on staff.   

New to the game and have my first flip under contract.

The person does pay her back and she did report the interest income. 

If you are worried about being over leveraged first look at your personal debts that are not producing income for you.Remember that when you are increasing equity in a property you are only reducing the risk of the lender.