New Real Estate Investor

[Kelvin Letron Brantley]

Hello,

I'm relatively new to real estate investing.  I'm familiar with many of the methods out there from such gurus as Carlton Sheets, Ron LeGrand, Robert Kiyosaki, and Bill Vaughn.   I caught the bug years ago and bought the courses, but never closed a property.  Now I'm a little older and more mature looking to invest in real estate.  

My Profile
Income:  Six Figures 
Credit:  Good
Personal Residence: $100,000 Equity - ($240,000 MKTV)

Question 1:  I hear arguments for going into debt to buy real estate and those for buying with no credit and no money down.   I like Ron LeGrand, but a lot of people think some of his deal terms are a little shady.  I sometimes get nervous thinking "what if the seller asks me something that's not on the script!".  Also I hear people saying that constantly going into debt to buy real estate will bite you and besides, banks will soon stop lending to you with so many properties financed.  Anyone have any opinions on either of the two methods? 

Question 2:  As mentioned above, I have $100,000 equity in my personal residence.  I was considering refinancing to take out 80% of the equity and use for investing.  Is this realistic?  My other thought was to use the money to do minor repairs on my property like paint and exterior work and then rent or lease the property.  This would be my entry into investing.  Any thoughts or opinions on this approach?

Thank you,
Kelvin