Young investor looking for any advise available

[Kyle Metzger]

Hey everyone, my name is Kyle and I'm from small-town Ashland , OH, which just so happens to be the rated the 4th most city with the cheapest cost of living. Whether that is a good or bad factor is to be determined. Just some slight background information on me, I did one year at Kent State University studying Finance and French but after the pressure of student loans breathed down my neck I couldn't justify the cost for no definite gain. I work at PNC Bank in the running towards becoming a personal banker but just surviving as a teller till next year. I have investing experience with the stock market and precious metals and have been doing so since I was 17, but again, stocks are risky and leave a bad taste in my mouth. I was introduced to the idea of real estate by my best friend, who shared his ideas with me and I coined him insane. After thinking about it I coined myself insane for not seeing his potential genius investment idea of rental properties. Ive been researching since then and have read VAST forums of all different topics. So my question to ask is, what can you tell two 19 year olds about real estate investing to get us started on the right path. Jumping back to the fact I work in a bank, financing options always put my name at the top of the list. We were most likely looking to use 5% cash down and finance the rest. Bear with me here, because like I said we are the 4th cheapest city to live so the cost of housing is incredibly cheap. I wanna hear what advice everyone has for us. What can you tell us to get us to our real estate goals.