Starting a rental empire

[Joseph Steffl]

Hello, I am generally new to the site and have a load of questions i need advise from you experienced investors. I am 17, I live in southern Washington, and have decided i wish to begin in real estate as an investor for my career, i work part time while going to school and have about 5k saved up. I am very aware this will not be enough to get into the game but that leads me into my questions. How much capital do you believe i should save before i start working? Should i dive right into rentals or do fix and flips to build more capital(i do have the ability to do so with very little needing to be hired out)? How many homes should i have in my portfolio before i go to a management company? and probably most important, how do you figure whether a house is the right house to rent, how much to price rent out for, and who to rent to? I have heard all sorts of answers and would just like clarification. Thank you in advance.