New to real estate investing/intro

[Patrick Megill]

Hey everyone I'm Pat and new to the forum. I am 25, married, and live in Florida. As the title says, I'm new to real estate. I just started reading "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and have been skimming through the forums here to try and get some pointers for a newbie. I think my biggest worry so far is how my family will take me expressing interest in this type of investment. How were you able to explain to those close to you that this was a risk worth taking? I don't want to get discouraged and miss out on a world of opportunity. My long term goals are to first buy a house as a primary residence then rent that and then rent out either a duplex, triplex, etc. and go from there. I am working on saving for a down payment on a house now and don't plan to buy for another 3-4 years which should get me to around 20% down. I also have access to a VA loan so even if I don't make 20% it won't be the end of the world. I look forward to chatting with you all and if you have any advice I am all ears!