Bay area resident starting out

[Asmani Kabutar]

Hello,

I am a Sunnyvale resident looking to learn and start out on RE investment. I am currently reading the Millionaire RE investor book (in first section).

I understand that the book is a good starting point, and touches on a lot of aspirational and theoretical aspects. What are some of the techniques folks here used to get started after reading such books?

I am 33 year old working as a software engineer with a mega corp here, have saved up some decent money and investing it in index funds. I am now looking to create a 2nd source of income slowly and steadily through RE investment (particularly, in rental income). I am not handy, and will likely require a property management firm to help with everything, but experienced folks on this forum can point me in the right direction if they feel that a complete novice like me could handle these things on his own.

Also, are there any good meetups in Santa Clara/Sunnyvale/Mountain View/San Jose area?