All lots stayed legal but one got a manufactured home shoved on it and sold immediately, before even in place.  

Thanks - the gains from the investment property sale were relatively small and we weren't ready to buy another one with a 1031 exchange.

We have one of these at home and they work great!

Their website lets me manage leases, repair requests, rental listings, payments, etc. all from one platform. 2 - Yes connecting my bank account.

Would we be automatically classified as real estate dealers in the eyes of the IRS for this one flip?

What's popular and saleable in one place isn't great in others.

If you can't find a solid one, don't invest in that market!

Quote from @Scott Morris: It appears as if he runs one of those programs where they hook you on a low/free cost training and then hit you non-stop with "upgrades", and "higher levels of coaching". 

Get a few of those and read them - that way you can start to get familiar with what kinds of things can happen in a house, and how big of a deal it is to fix each one of them.If there are any new houses being built in your area (like, within bike or bus/train range), and the neighborhood is relatively OK, go over to that neighborhood, after the workers have left for the day, and see what building a house looks like. 

Meanwhile you can do exterior, trim trees, remove shrubs, roofing first, then lawn and landscape so it has time to grow in, driveway if you need a new one last.