Buy and Hold Goals

[Account Closed]

Hi there, I am new to real estate investing (of course) and want to start buying rentals in my area. I want to learn as much as I can about the process of purchasing a rental before I begin to look for my first deal, and am currently posting with the intentions of finding the best resources I can use to educate myself. 

I have read the stickies in the forum and am currently reading as many posts as I can to learn, but would appreciate more specified help in what I should read or watch to help me take my first steps (such as books, or more specified threads geared to rental property investing). 

Also, I will soon be licensed as a real estate agent (more so to help me learn more about real estate than to actually pursue a career). With this being said, I am wondering if it would be worth it to pay for MLS access? Through what avenues does a typical investor find most rental deals? I understand wholesalers/flippers find many deals through direct mailing and other more intensive searches, but would appreciate a nudge on where my time would be best spent looking for my first property.

I would also like to note that I have my financing already configured and am fortunate enough to not necessarily need to worry about it at this stage, most of my concerns come from what is listed above.

Thank you for reading!