I am looking for any and all advice or tips that you fine people could share with me in order to get me over the hump and take the next step.  

We have watched the property drop 20k each month and the house has said under review now since Friday with us being the highest and only bidder.

Biggest fear.... being on this site 10 years from now, realizing I have done nothing in real estate... watching the "leap of faith" folks, talk about how much their business has grown over time...long time lurker... kicked lots of tires... trying to get over the hump and flip that first property... feel the next step is "just do it already".... 

I don't know that they're looking for investors but, if they were, I think if they get over the hump of startup cash drain.

Most of what people say I agree with.My concern is retirement A lot of my friends have nothing left each month after paying the high prices for everything I thought I could get over the hump with investing but it takes a lot of time and a lot of cash flow to ever live and pay for a little cal house.Maybe I am doing something wrong but I am afraid I might be forced to move in a few years when I get to retirement age and won’t have the income to survive

The blue USB stick we give if someone is coming to the 3 day is a list of few hundred houses that are either pre foreclosures, probates etc.

So, it can be a way to grow quickly, but your churn rate will be high.May get you over a hump so you can afford to hire help, but you will need another strategy to not have your business shrink.

We turn down deals that are 15% cash on cash all day long.Retail Negatives The amazon effect will kill retailBig Box closures (JC Penney, Toy r us, Bed Bath and Beyond etc)Malls are closingRetail PositivesCan't kill internet and recession resistant businesses (dog groomers, restaurants, bars, medical, QSR's, hardware, urgent cares etc)Retail grew at 6.9% year over yearCBRE reported retail vacancy is the lowest it has been since they started recordigng that metric at 6%Retail PlayBuy retail in suburban locations where new competition is land locked.Stress test your deals and tenantsStay away from areas where there are millions of sq ft of retail (think where the Costco's or Best Buys are)Post Covid, we have become accustomed to going to suburban downtowns vs metropolitan city centers and that is where all of the growth is.Retail Case StudyWe purchased a 96k sq ft strip mall that is 18% cash on cash at purchase. 

Someone made a purchase agreement outside of us being involved.  

Doesn’t have to be a home run just getting over the hump of taking action helps you get comfortable with the process.