Mainly because I want to make sure you don't make the same mistake I made.A long story made short here (you can read the previous post for more history), as of writing this post IF 2.0 is not anywhere near ready and we have navigated away from the platform entirely.

Apparently everyone else here made the same mistake in reading your post to mean you were talking about how to arrange a partnership. 

Because no one is going to help you, you must help yourself - we are all that middle point around which the world revolves - and it's up to you to own it.So when our friend Lydia thought, 'come on dude, put some of your time and thought into it,' it's because, like me, she's probably seen a lot of people approach this biz and we now see at a glance whether they have the skill set, disposition, and self-starter attitude required for it.For example, I used to tell people, "You should consider getting into real estate," but when they text me later that evening asking me what website they look into licensing courses on, I realize I made a mistake, because I'm not going to Google That For You.But take heart, because these are all learned skills, you just need to focus on learning the right ones. 

Unless you are trying to renovate a property remotely, the biggest unique challenge is knowing the neighborhoods and not buying in the wrong area, That is the single biggest mistake out of state investors make, Any other mistake can be overcome.

More apprehensive/cautious right now as opposed to excited as I really don't want to make a mistake as my first investment.

Ignoring your own screening standards is a major mistake simply because a existing tenant wants to move in some unknown person.I would tell your tenant that you will release him from his lease provided he pay the rent till a new tenant takes over and he must cover your costs to find that tenant.I personally have screening standards and she would definatly not pass.

I would also spend time reflecting on the mistakes of the first property and consider whether extreme leverage, and correspondingly thin cash flows, was one of those mistakes.Always buy for cash flow and stress-test your deals - even on a duplex. 

Pull the trigger and learn from your mistakes( screen tenants don't sweat the small stuff). 8.

There seems to be enough meat on the bone to cover for most mistakes you will run into.

Professional estimators --- who work on these mega projects and do this for a living --- often make mistakes.