I do have an agent that is helping me on the side to find deal but for a person like me; completely fresh of boat, I have no idea what to look for and extremely nervous to pull that trigger. 

Personally I would sell and take your losses and look to invest elsewhere.

BUt why cant i get a lien when the person clearly agreed to pay back in a contract and he failed to pay? 

Since he didn’t seem anything like whatI thought of as a “super sales personality”, I asked him how he found such success.

That said, that isn't the kind of action I'm personally cool taking part in or giving advice to others to do. 

Seek out markets with promising long-term growth and solid foundations.

Personally, I have a boutique investment company.

House hacking will also give you some personal "property management" experience.

BP is a great place to start however I feel in person gets you further.

We have a person on board with a degree in design, so we usually tweak the floor plans for sight lines and function.